Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ

Resisting the Truth - Part 1

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2006-01-01

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver examines 2 Timothy 3:1-9, focusing on how people resist the truth, using Jannes and Jambres as examples. He explains that false teachers in every age share common characteristics: they are idolatrous, idiocrats, immoral, and intellectual. The primary way people resist the truth is by resisting the messengers of truth through imitation, insinuation, and intimidation. Weaver emphasizes that rejecting God's messengers is equivalent to rejecting God Himself.

[John Weaver] 2 Timothy 3, we're going to be reading verses 1 through 9. And the title of the message is Resisting the Truth. And I want to just say up front that it's going to be in two parts. I will not be able to finish it this Sunday, but it will take next Sunday as well. So 2 Timothy 3, and let's begin reading with verse 1. This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come.

[John Weaver] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women, laden with sins, led away with divers' lust, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of truth.

[John Weaver] Now, as Janus and as Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be made manifest unto all men, as theirs also was." Now the Bible specifically says in verse 8 that Janus and Jambres withstood Moses. That is, they resisted the truth. Then the Apostle Paul says that likewise there are those that were alive in his day as well as those who are alive in our day who resist the truth as well. That is, they purposefully and deliberately resist the truth.

[John Weaver] Now, truth is so precious and so valuable, who would not want to know it, embrace it, believe it, and apply it? Who would want to believe a lie? Think about that. Who would want to follow error? Why is it that people fight against the truth and resist the truth and hate it? Some of you are aware that there is a theory known as cognitive dissonance. Let me explain that just momentarily. According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions, that is, among their beliefs, their understandings, their attitudes, and sometimes there is an inconsistency between what they believe and what they see happening or what they hear. That is dissonance. That is the inconsistency. So, therefore, there is a conflict between what they think and what they observe and what they hear, and they are fighting with what they are observing and yet what they believe and consequently many times they just simply fight against anything and everything because they're trying to eliminate the dissonance or the inconsistency between

[John Weaver] what they believe or what they've been taught and what they're hearing and what they're observing. And usually what people do when they are faced with a problem like this Many times they will change their own attitudes to conform to the behavior, or sometimes they change their behavior to conform to the attitudes.

[John Weaver] Now, whether the theory of cognitive dissonance is true or not, I'm not teaching that today, it is a fact that when we hear something contrary to what we have believed and have been taught all of our lives, our first response is to deny what we hear. Just stop and think about that. Whenever you hear something that's absolutely, totally contrary to what you've been taught and what you have believed all of your life, your first response is to deny what you hear. It seems as if we are incapable of even processing what we hear, much less entertaining facts that are contrary to what we have already been taught and what we've already heard. In fact, the truth is, when we hear truth that we've never heard before or have been taught before, we must hear that truth over and over and then slowly but surely we begin to grasp it and understand it and embrace it and change what we have formerly believed in order that we might believe the truth, which then will produce a change in our behavior.

[John Weaver] And interestingly, after we have embraced the truth, we wonder why we were fought against to begin with. I never will forget when I first started taking Greek. I took Greek for three years. The first year I took Greek, I thought, oh, Lord, have mercy. I will never learn this stuff. The second year I took Greek, I thought, well, this is not so difficult. And the third year, I thought, why did I ever complain to begin with?

[John Weaver] It's as easy as falling off a lock. You see what I'm saying? But when you first hear things that you've never ever heard before, your first response is to either deny it or say that can never be. Do you realize it is extremely disconcerting to discover? that what you have heard all of your life and what you have been taught all of your life has been error and wrong. We fight against truth many times simply because we do not want to be proven wrong or we do not want our family and our friends to be in error and we recognize That if what someone is teaching is truth, then that means our family and our friends have always been in error.

[John Weaver] Now, this is especially true in relationship to history and religion. Let me ask you. Can you imagine what it must be like? For a Muslim. Or Roman Catholic. To come to the true saving faith in the true saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. You stop and think about that for a moment. That means they have to reject everything that they have been taught from a child. The same thing is true when an Arminian comes to the knowledge and belief of God's absolute sovereignty. He has to say, wait a minute, everything just about that I've been taught has been wrong, and he has to reinterpret everything then in light of God's absolute sovereignty.

[John Weaver] So I'm just simply saying, folks, it is a fact that is disconcerting sometimes to hear things that we've never heard before. And our natural tendency is to fight against truth when we hear it for the first time.

[John Weaver] Now, the Scripture tells us, and we'll look at this a little bit later on, the Scripture does tell us that there are those who hate the truth simply because it is truth. And they love unrighteousness far more than they love truth. You'll find that in 2 Thessalonians 2. We're not going to turn there now. But the Bible does say that some people just simply hate truth because they love unrighteousness.

[John Weaver] Now the Bible is speaking here particularly about Janus and Jambres. Here are two men that resisted Moses and Aaron. You will read about these two men back in the book of Exodus. Janus and Jambres were undoubtedly the head or lead magicians and sorcerers under Pharaoh. Now, undoubtedly, Pharaoh had many more magicians and many more sorcerers, but these two probably were his best, and they were singled out to defeat Moses and Aaron. Now, the Scripture tells us, look in verse 8, that they withstood Moses. So these two men then were chosen specifically to withstand Moses. Now the word withstood is the Greek word amphistemi which means to resist, to withstand, to oppose, to set oneself against So here were two men who purposefully and deliberately set themselves against and resisted and withstood everything that Moses and Aaron stood for and said. Now, moreover, when you look at this word withstood, it is a present middle indicative, which may not mean a thing to you, but if you understand Greek, it just simply means this. that they were doing it themselves, and they were doing it purposefully and deliberately, and that they were doing it consistently and constantly and continually.

[John Weaver] In other words, their withstanding the truth was not a one-time act, but it was a constant and continual act. Now look in verse 8 again. Look what he says, Now as Janice and Jambrez withstood Moses, now look, So do these, he's talking about the false teachers, so do these also resist the truth. Now the word resist in verse 8 is exactly the same word as withstood in verse 8. So he's talking about men who are purposefully resisting the truth. Moreover, I want you to understand that the tense is exactly the same. The mood is exactly the same in the Greek, which means that these false teachers were doing exactly what Janice and Jambres was doing in the days of Moses and Aaron. So here's what Paul is saying in verse eight. Paul is saying that modern day false teachers, that is modern day, according to Paul and Timothy, were doing exactly the same thing to the truth that Janice and Jambres was doing in Egypt before Moses and Aaron.

[John Weaver] Now let me ask you a simple question. How in the world could the false teachers in Paul and Timothy's day, how could they even be compared to the magicians and the sorcerers in Egypt during the time of Moses and Aaron? I mean, after all, We're talking about thousands of years that have intervened. And moreover, the false teachers in 2 Timothy chapter 3 do not claim to be magicians or sorcerers.

[John Weaver] So how can there be a comparison? Well, let me tell you what the Apostle Paul does in 2 Timothy chapter 3. He gives us some general categories in which all false teachers fall. So it doesn't matter if you're talking about Janice and Jambres in the days of Moses and Aaron, or false teachers in the days of Paul and Timothy, or false teachers in our day. Paul says, here are some general areas in which all false teachers will ultimately fall. What are they? Well, let's look at them. Let's begin with verse two. Let me just show you, first of all, verses two through four. Paul tells us that all false teachers are idolatrous. Look in verse 2.

[John Weaver] He says, For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. without natural affection, truth-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." So here they are, they are idolatrous. What are they doing? They're worshipping and serving the creature themselves more than the Creator. Their emphasis is upon their wants, their wishes, their desires, their will, and not God's will and God's desires. In other words, here are men that live simply for their own benefit and for their own pleasures.

[John Weaver] You could say it like this. They are a law unto themselves. They do what they please. In fact, if you will look in your Bibles, please, to Philippians chapter 3, whole 2nd Timothy, but look in Philippians chapter 3, I want you to see that there is a verse of scripture that describes these men very aptly. Philippians chapter 3 and look in verse 19. Philippians 3 and verse 19, talking about being idolatrous and worshiping, serving the creature more than the creator. The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3 and verse 19, Look what he says, talking about these wicked men whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. Whose God is their belly. What's he saying?

[John Weaver] And he's not just talking about food, but he's talking about anyone who just simply lives for his own pleasure. So here, Paul begins by saying all false teachers are idolatrous. It doesn't matter if we're talking about Janus and Jambres. It doesn't matter about the false teachers in his day or the false teachers in our days. In our day, they're all idolatrous. That is the truth.

[John Weaver] Secondly, if you look in verse 5, he points out that they're all idiocrats. I'll explain that, but look in verse 5. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. from such turn away. Now, not only are they idolaters, they are secondly, idiocrats. That is, they have a form of godliness. If you will look up the word idiocracy, you will find that it means peculiar to oneself, or that which belongs to oneself, or that which is peculiar to a person. Now, how can I call them Well, he says they have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.

[John Weaver] Here's what the false teachers do. They make up their rules as they go along. They make up their structure and their religion as they go along. Do you realize you can be as godly as you want to be as long as you can make up the rules yourself? It's kind of like there are many games that I've never played. But I don't care what game you give to me and want to play with me, I can always win if you let me make up the rules as I go along.

[John Weaver] That's exactly what these people were doing. They were idiocrats. They made up their rules. They had their own form. They had their own structure of religiosity. But there was no power, that is, no Holy Ghost power, no power of God in their lives. They were empty. Look in your Bibles, whole 2 Timothy, but turn to the book of Jude right before the book of Revelation. Look in the book of Jude at verses 12 and 13.

[John Weaver] Here are some descriptions that fit these folks very properly. Jude 1 verse 12, look what our Lord says about these false teachers here and false believers. He says, these are spots in your feasts of charity. When they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear, clouds they are without water, carried about of winds, trees whose fruit withereth without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots, Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame, wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." Now, folks, let me ask you, how much more descriptive can you be? What about a wave of the sea? What's it do?

[John Weaver] When it hits the land, it just spews forth all the filth and every vileness that is in it. What about a tree that its fruit is withered? And it's been plucked up by the roots. It's dead. It's barren. It never produces anything. Clouds without water. That's how he's describing these people. So they are idolatrous. They are idiocrats. They have a form of religion, but they are absolutely, totally powerless.

[John Weaver] There's no power of God in their lives. There's no holiness according to Bible holiness. They have their own structure. But it is not a godly structure, so he says their idolatrous and he also says that they are idiocrats. And then if you look in verse six. They are also immoral, he says, for of this sort.

[John Weaver] Now he's still talking about these men. These false teachers were of this sort of a which creep into houses and the captive silly women laden with sins led away with drivers less. Well, how could it be otherwise? Let me ask you a question. Think about this. If you have no law but your own law, and if you acknowledge no God but yourself, will you not naturally fulfill your own lusts? Well, of course, that's exactly what you do. Now, I want you to note something about these men. Look in verse 6.

[John Weaver] Although they are immoral, they are not openly immoral. What they do, they do secretively, he says, for of this sort are they which creep into houses. That is, they insinuate themselves into these houses and then they capture or make captive of silly women. Now, interestingly enough, he describes what silly women are. He says in verse 6, there are women who are laden with sins. led away with diverse lusts. In other words, there are women who live by their feelings, who follow their lusts, who follow their desires. There are women who have no objective standard.

[John Weaver] That is, they do not adhere to the principle of the Word of God. If you do not have an objective standard, the only standard you could possibly have is subjective. Which means you do as you please. You do whatever you want to do. So they're called silly women and they've been led away captive. And when you don't live by principle, folks, you're easily captured and led away.

[John Weaver] So what about these false teachers? They're idolaters. Yes, they're idiocrats. Yes, they're immoral. Yes, but that's not all. Look in verse seven. They are intellectual, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth. Now, the sad thing is, humanly speaking, these false teachers are not dummies. They have a great deal of knowledge, intellect, and smarts. In all probability, that is the one thing that attracts a lot of people to false teachers. They're impressed with intellect. They're impressed with degrees.

[John Weaver] I'm Dr. So-and-so. And once you say that, boy, they are impressed. But don't you know what the Bible says? Look carefully now. Verse 7, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. So it doesn't matter how intellectual they are. It doesn't matter how brilliant they are. The truth is they are never, ever able to come to a precise knowledge of the truth.

[John Weaver] Now, let me explain something to you. There are two Greek words for knowledge. One of them is the word Gnosis, and by the way, that's where we get the word Gnostic from. When we talk about Gnosticism, which was a heresy in the New Testament times. And by the way, that heresy still exists today, just under a different name. But the Greek word gnosis just simply means knowledge. But the word epignosis means a full knowledge or a precise knowledge.

[John Weaver] I want you to watch this. Look at verse 7. He says that these false teachers are ever learning and never able to come to the precise knowledge of the truth. Let me spell it out like this. They know a lot about the Bible, but they don't know the Bible. They know a lot about Christ, but they don't know Christ. You can have a head full of facts and a head full of knowledge and never, ever be genuinely converted. And you know what the Bible says in James chapter 3 and verse 15, talking about that kind of knowledge. He says, of course, this knowledge descends not from above, but it's earthly, sensual and devilish. And in 1 Corinthians 8, the Bible says that kind of knowledge that they have just simply puffs up.

[John Weaver] That is, it makes men arrogant, proud. Let me ask you a question. Do you think the precise knowledge of Jesus Christ that the Apostle Paul found on the Damascus Road made him proud, arrogant, and haughty? No. It humbled him. It brought him down to his knees, acknowledging that he was nothing and that Jesus Christ was everything. So here these men are, they are intellectual. Now, here's what the Apostle Paul is saying, that all false teachers of every age, it doesn't matter, we're talking about Janice and Jambres, doesn't matter if we're talking about the false teachers in Paul's day or the false teachers in our day, They're always going to be idolatrous. They're always going to be idiocrats. They're always going to be immoral. And they're always, always going to be intellectual because that's their draw. But although they have knowledge. They do not have a precise knowledge of Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] Now, go back to verse one, let me show you something. We haven't even gotten started on the message yet, this is all introduction, OK? Look in verse one. This know also that in the last days. Perilous times shall come.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to notice what Paul is doing. Paul is writing to Timothy. And he says, Timothy, I want you to understand something that in the last days, perilous times are going to come. And then he begins to tell these perilous times by these false teachers. And then if you look in verse 8, now it's Janice and Jambres withstood Moses. What does he say now? So do these also. Whoa!

[John Weaver] Did you just hear what he said? Paul is writing to Timothy and he is saying, just like Janice and Jambres withstood Moses, So do these also. But what was the warning that he gave in verse one? This know that when tell me when in the last days, perilous times shall come. Then he said, so do these also. In other words, according to Paul's own teaching, Paul and Timothy were living in the last days when Second Timothy was written.

[John Weaver] Now, Let me show you how easily this is explained. Hold second Timothy, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter one. And I want you to see when the last days began. Then you can understand how Paul and Timothy were living in the last days. Notice Hebrews chapter one, beginning there with verse one. God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past in the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom he also made the worlds." So when did the last days begin?

[John Weaver] In the first coming of Christ. We've been in the last days ever since Christ came. What does the Bible say? That God used to speak in old times by prophets and in different manners. But in verse 2, he hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. So we have been in the last days ever since our Lord came. And that's why Paul is telling Timothy You're in the last days and you've got false teachers there just like those men that withstood Moses by the name of Janice and Jambres.

[John Weaver] Now, let's ask this question. How did Janice and Jambres withstand the truth? How did these false teachers withstand the truth? Let's ask an even more general question. How does anyone withstand or resist the truth? We're not even just talking about false prophets and false teachers now. We're talking about our next door neighbor. We're talking about the man down the street. We're talking about the person who's listening to my voice.

[John Weaver] How do you fight against? How do you resist the truth? Well, basically speaking, let me give it to you like this. There are two basic ways that you can really resist the truth. I'm only going to cover one of them today. The first way that you can resist the truth is this by resisting the messengers of the truth. Look in verse eight now as Janice and Jambres withstood who? Moses. And of course, as they withstood Moses, they also withstood Aaron, who was his prophet, who was his mouthpiece.

[John Weaver] So what did Pharaoh and the Egyptians do? They withstood or resisted the messengers of truth. Let me just put it very plainly to you. Moses and Aaron certainly were not greeted amicably. They were not received with open, loving, kind and gracious arms. They were not received as the special messengers sent by Jehovah. When Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh and his court, they approached a hostile audience. Neither Pharaoh nor his Egyptians desired to hear what Moses and Aaron had to say.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to see something. Hold second Timothy, but go back in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 5. I want you to watch this. Look in Exodus chapter 5. Because I want you to see their divine mission was denied. Their source of authority was denied. By Pharaoh. And therefore his court. Look in Exodus chapter 5. And after Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, let my people go that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. Now notice, thus saith the Lord God of Israel. Moses and Aaron are saying this, God sent us. Here's what God said. Here's what Pharaoh responded. Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

[John Weaver] What did he just say? I don't recognize your God. I don't recognize your source of authority. Therefore, I don't even recognize you as being sent of God. I don't recognize your divine mission. You're nobody. I don't have to listen to you now. How did Pharaoh and his court resist the messengers of God? I'm going to give you three ways. Listen carefully. We're going to take these one at a time. The first way they resisted the messengers of God was by imitation. Imitation. Do you realize it was supposed to be the miracles that Moses and Aaron performed that authenticated their ministry and authenticated their mission. It was these miracles that demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were indeed sent of God. Now, if Pharaoh's magicians could imitate these miracles, then it would discredit Moses and Aaron. How could they possibly claim to be the special messengers of God if Pharaoh's own magicians could do the exact same thing that Moses and Aaron could do?

[John Weaver] Now, I don't know how familiar you are with the book of Exodus. I hope you're very familiar. But do you realize there were only three areas in which the magicians could imitate What Moses and Aaron did. Only three. And I'm not going to get into explaining all of these. I'm going to show them to you. First of all, they imitated the turning of the rod into serpents. OK, you'll find that in Exodus 7 verse 11. You remember that Aaron threw down his rod. It became a serpent. Then the magicians came forth, they threw down their rods, and they became serpents as well.

[John Weaver] Now there's a practical explanation to how that they did it. But by the way, let me point out that when they threw down their rods, they became serpents. Guess what happened? The rod of Moses devoured their rods and their serpents, swallowed them down. They were able to imitate that. through their sorcery, through their trickery. The second thing they were able to imitate was turning water into blood in Exodus 7 verse 22. The third thing they were able to imitate was calling the frogs up out of the river in Exodus chapter 8 in verse 7. Now watch this. The turning of the rod into the serpent can be easily explained. Making water turn red could be easily explained.

[John Weaver] It may be done by the Egyptians, especially these magicians. Calling up frogs might could be easily explained. But when you get to the fourth miracle. When Moses turns the dust into lice. They cannot do that. Why? Because all Satan and his emissaries can do is imitate. They cannot create. Only God can give life. And I want you to listen to me very carefully. Imitation is not creation. And the magicians were able to bring forth death But they were not able to bring forth life. And interestingly, listen to me, go back and read it in Exodus 7, 8 and 9. All the Egyptian magicians were able to do was to add to the misery that had already been sent upon the Egyptians by God. They could not stop the judgment. They could not thwart it. They could not hinder it. They could not turn it around. All they could do was add to the misery. They could add bloody water. They could call more frogs up, but that's it. They could not do anything else. They could not create life.

[John Weaver] The only thing they produced was death. Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch carefully, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 1. Look what the Apostle Paul writes, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 1. He says, Would to God you could bear with me a little in my folly, and indeed bear with me.

[John Weaver] Then he tells them, for I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. Then he says in verse 3, but I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

[John Weaver] Now look, for if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit which you have not received, or another gospel which you have not accepted, what is he saying? Now watch. I'm going to show you just a moment. All Satan can do and all the false teachers can do is present another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. It is imitation. It is counterfeit. It is fake.

[John Weaver] It is not the real thing. Now skip down to verse 14. Well, verse 13. He says, For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, and no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as a minister of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. You see, all of the cults, all the isms, all the schisms that you can find today are imitations and counterfeits of the true gospel and of the true Christ. They're not the real thing. Thus, it is through imitation that false teachers deceive.

[John Weaver] Now, look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 16. Turn back just a few pages. Romans 16. And the Bible tells us that one of the ways they deceive is through their fair speeches. That is, once again, using their intellect. Notice in Romans chapter 16, beginning there with verse 17. He says, Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause division, offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them.

[John Weaver] For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. There it is again. and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. So what does the Apostle Paul say? The Apostle Paul says when someone tries to draw you away from the doctrine of the Word of God, from the doctrine of Christ, from the truth of Scripture, He says you better mark them and have nothing to do with them because it's by their fair speeches and fair words. They're trying to deceive you and beguile you and draw you away.

[John Weaver] Thus, they use their intellect while they are serving themselves. Now, let me just explain this to you. You know. Each one of us. has our own sphere of understanding and sphere of reference. I could call and pronounce a word and some of you may think of three or four different things. I could even use the word hunting. Now if I use the word hunting, Dr. Holmes is going to think of either deer or turkey. Some of the women are going to think about hunting for an item that they want to buy. Some of us older folks are going to think about where we left our teeth or where we left our keys. The word hunting means different things to different people. Do you understand that? But I want you to understand the same thing is true when it comes to theology.

[John Weaver] I can point out to you false teachers who are on the radio today and who are on the TV today who talk about Jesus Christ being the Son of God. And when you and I hear Jesus Christ the Son of God, what do we immediately think of? We think, yes, Jesus Christ is the unique virgin-born Son of God, perfect God and perfect man, God incarnate. He's the only begotten of God. That's immediately what we think of. But that's not what the false teacher thinks about. When he says that he believes that Jesus Christ is a son of God, what he is saying is he believes that Jesus Christ is a son of God the way you and I are sons of God. In other words, he's just a good man. He's no better than we are and no more than we are. Now, I want you to notice what he's doing.

[John Weaver] He's using the same terminology, but he has a totally different meaning behind his terminology. Now, that's what Paul is talking about with their fair speeches. That's why words are important. That's why definitions are important. That's why you must know what someone means by the words that he uses. So one of the ways, then, that you can resist the truth is by imitation. And you find all of these cults and isms, they're resisting the truth. How? They have their own imitation. That's why they need books over and above and beyond the Word of God. That's why they have to write their own version of the Bible. That's why they have to explain their own works and make everybody read those works other than the Word of God.

[John Weaver] Like Janus and Jambres, the only thing a false teacher can bring forth is death. He cannot produce life. Do you remember what our Lord said in Proverbs 8 in verse 36? But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. All they that hate me love death. So one way to resist the messengers of God is by imitation. Another way to resist the messengers of God is by insinuation.

[John Weaver] Now there are other words that could be used for insinuation. I could have used the word defamation or vilification. You see, when one does not like the message. Then the normal thing that you think of doing is to discredit the messenger and you discredit him by vilifying and defaming him, and one of the easiest ways to do that is by insinuation. I want you to understand, when you insinuate something, you do not necessarily have to openly attack someone.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. Do you happen to know how old Moses and Aaron were when they confronted Pharaoh? I want you to stop and think. If you don't know, I'll tell you. You'll find it in Exodus 7 and verse 7, but Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old. You know, that's kind of like someone threatening to whip me and they send a 90 year old man to do it.

[John Weaver] What am I going to do? I'm going to laugh. I'm going to say, You think that 90-year-old man's going to whip me? You're mistaken. Well, can you not imagine what Pharaoh and his court did when they saw these two old men? Can you not hear them mocking these two old men? Surely, if your God is going to send somebody, surely He would have sent a younger, stronger man, someone who could have faced us and dealt with us. Surely. You're too old to be used of God. You can't do anything.

[John Weaver] What do you hope to accomplish while you can? Can you imagine the ridicule? I want you to understand something. I'm going to explain this because this is vitally important. Insinuation has been used throughout history to attack and destroy the character of godly men. Let me say that again. Insinuation has been used throughout history to attack and destroy the character of godly men. One of my favorite stories, and you've heard it, about the fellow who worked very hard.

[John Weaver] He did carpentry work, etc. And so he went downtown to do some work and he parked his truck in front of the liquor store. And the church gossip saw it there. And she started spreading the word that he was hitting the bottle and evidently was a drunkard because his truck was parked in front of the liquor store. And when he heard it, he just took his truck that night and parked in front of her house and left.

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? That's insinuation. Did you know our Lord himself was the recipient of vile insinuations? Let me show you two of them. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 11. Matthew 11. You remember John the Baptist, of course, was different from our Lord. John did not drink wine and John, you know, ate locusts and honey That was it. Well, look what our Lord said in Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11 and notice if you would please verse. Let's begin there with verse 18. He says for John came neither eating nor drinking and they say he hath a devil.

[John Weaver] Something's wrong with that man. He doesn't eat or drink. All he does is drink some wine and eats nothing but honey and locusts. Then in verse 19, the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, behold, a gluttonous and a winebibber. So what did they accuse Christ of? Of being a glutton, being a winebibber. Well, that's not all. In fact, that's pretty nice compared to John 8. If you'll turn to John 8 and notice, if you would please there, verse 41. Our Lord is in a confrontation with these Pharisees in John 8 in verse 41.

[John Weaver] And of course, he is besting them naturally. And notice what they say in John 8 41. Our Lord tells them, he says, you do the deeds of your father. In other words, you're of the devil and you're doing the deeds of your father. Watch it in verse 41. Then said they unto him, we be not born of fornication. We have one father, even God. What were they insinuating? They were insinuating that the virgin born sinless son of God was a bastard.

[John Weaver] That's what they were saying. Can you imagine the blasphemy? We be not born of fornication. We know who our parents are. Insinuation. Do you realize? The Apostle Paul himself had to face that. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. And notice if you would, what he says there in verse 10. 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 10. In fact, this whole passage deals with Paul basically defending himself because of the insinuation of the Judaizers. In 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 10, look what they said concerning the Apostle Paul.

[John Weaver] For his letters say they are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is contemptible. Who does he think he is? He writes strong, but look at him. That sickly, emaciated little punk. Who does he think he is? That's what they're doing. In fact, if you look at 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 3, They so tried to discredit the Apostle Paul by insinuation that they even cast. Doubts into the minds of these believers that Christ could even speak through Paul. So in 2nd Corinthians 13 in verse three, he tells them since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you word is not weak, but is mighty in you. Insinuation. By the way.

[John Weaver] I hope you know that Judaizers are not the only ones who use that tactic. I want you to turn in your Bible, since you're close there, to Ephesians chapter 4 and look at verse 31. I'm going to explain this and then I'm going to show you something. Ephesians 4 verse 31. God tells us there are certain things that have been put away, put off. It's not to be in our lives. Verse 31 he says, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Now I want you to notice evil speaking. You know what I could do? I could say, boy, that Ed Wolfe let me tell you some things about that rascal and I could just lower the boom on him. That's evil speaking. I mean, let me tell you something folks. Whether or not some things are true is immaterial. Even some things that are true do not need to be repeated. Do you understand that? Just because something really truly happened does not mean that you have to go up and down as a tattletale, or as scripture says, as a tail bearer among your people.

[John Weaver] But now let me show you something. I don't have to sit here and say, well, let me tell you something about Ed Wolfe and just lower the boom. I don't have to do that. Doc could come up to me and say, you know, I really like Ed Wolfe. And I could look at Doc and say, you wouldn't say that if you knew what I knew.

[John Weaver] Now, have I said anything bad about him? Have I repeated anything? No. But what have I done? I've insinuated. I've insinuated that I know something that he doesn't know, and if he knew what I knew, he really wouldn't like him, and he really wouldn't be friends with him, and he really wouldn't have anything to do with him. When God says put away all evil speaking, it includes insinuation. How do you resist the messengers of God? Now listen. Imitation. Insinuation and one more. Intimidation. Intimidation.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 10. Exodus chapter 10. You remember how Moses and Aaron have not only bested the sorcerers and the magicians of Egypt. They've also bested Pharaoh. In Exodus chapter 10 and verse 28, Pharaoh is fed up with it. And look what he says. Exodus 10 verse 28, And Pharaoh said unto them, that is to Moses and Aaron, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more, for in the day that thou seest my face, thou shalt die. Moses, if thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face no more again." Now, what was Moses doing? Moses was saying, Pharaoh, you think you have threatened me. You think you have intimidated me. But you've spoken your own death sentence.

[John Weaver] Now, please listen to this, folks. When Pharaoh told Moses, get thee hence, Take heed of thyself, see my face no more, for in the day that thou seest my face, thou shalt surely die." Can a threat get any plainer? I mean, think about it. Pharaoh was an absolute ruler. Pharaoh believed that he held life and death in his hand, and he said to Moses, when you come back to see me, I'll have you executed. That's it. intimidation.

[John Weaver] You know, it's amazing as you read through scripture. How intimidation is used. Do you remember when Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal? You remember that on Mount Carmel? But when you get to 1 Kings 19 and verse 2, Queen Jezebel said this. She sent a messenger to Elijah and said, So let the gods do to me, and more so, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. But she said, Elijah, I'm going to cut your head off just the way you cut off the heads of my prophets. So let the gods do to me, and more so, if by this time tomorrow you are not dead just like them. I'm going to tell you now, you've got to remember Ahab and Jezebel were wicked, cruel tyrants. That's when Elijah said, I think it's time for me to leave town. That's when he went to the mountain. That's when God met him. You know, Amos was threatened the same way. In Amos 7 and verse 12 and 13, let me tell you, Amos went to the palace to preach against Jeroboam II.

[John Weaver] Now, Jeroboam II had a statist priest, Amaziah, and here's what Amaziah said to Amos. I like this. He said, Amos, O thou seer, that is, O thou prophet, go, flee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there, but prophesy not again any more at Bethel, for it is the king's chapel, it is the king's court.

[John Weaver] Now, listen to what he said. O thou seer, go flee away to the land of Judah." In other words, you live in Judah. You don't live in northern Israel. You're part of the southern kingdom. You're not part of the northern kingdom. You go back home and there you eat bread. That is if you want to eat bread. Because if you stay up here, we're going to kill you.

[John Weaver] Because this is the king's chapel. This is the king's court. Intimidation? Oh yeah.

[John Weaver] Now, you say, but Brother Weaver, God's preachers today. Most of them are threatened with the loss of their life. Oh, I know that. Some are. I've got friends who have been threatened. I've been threatened. But let me tell you something. You can intimidate a man. And more ways than one. You know what happens to the average pastor? The average pastor is so intimidated by the Board of Deacons or by the rich man or the rich woman in church that he's afraid to preach the whole counsel of God. A preacher, if you preach something we don't like, we'll get mad. We'll just leave. You know, that's intimidation. That's manipulation. That's when you try to control an individual. What are you doing? Now listen to me. When you intimidate or try to intimidate in any way whatsoever the messenger of the truth, you are resisting, you are withstanding the truth. You're saying in essence, I don't want to hear it.

[John Weaver] I'll have nothing to do with it. Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 36. Let me just show you this 2 Chronicles 36 and look at verse 15. 2 Chronicles 36 verse 15. Look what the Bible says and the Lord God of their fathers sent to them that is sent to his people. The Lord God of their fathers sent to them, to the people, by His messengers, that is, His prophets, His preachers. He sent to them by His messengers, rising up in times and sending. Why did God send the preachers? Here's why. Because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. Well, what did the people do to the preachers? Watch. But they mocked the messengers of God.

[John Weaver] That is, they intimidated them. They made fun of them. They belittled them. and despised his that is God's words and misused his that is God's prophets until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people till there was no remedy. What is God saying? God is saying you cannot have one attitude toward me and another one toward my messengers. If you resist the messenger of truth, you are at the same time resisting the one who sent the messenger of truth. You know what our Lord said in Matthew 10 in verse 40?

[John Weaver] He told his disciples, he that receiveth, you receiveth me. He that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. So when we receive Christ, we receive the Father who sent Christ. When we receive Christ's servants, we receive Christ. But the opposite is also true. When we resist and stand against the service of Christ, we're resisting and standing against and failing to receive Christ himself. And when we resist and stand against Christ, we're resisting and standing against the Father who sent Christ.

[John Weaver] There are a multitude of reasons today of why God's preachers are so despised, hated and rejected. But I'm going to tell you, one of the main reasons is because people hate truth. And one of the ways to fight against the truth is to fight against the man who brings the truth. And when you do so, you're doing exactly what Janice and Jambres did to Moses and Aaron. You're doing exactly what the false teachers did in the days of Paul and Timothy. Exactly what the false teachers are doing today. You're doing exactly what all wicked men do. You're fighting and resisting the truth.

[John Weaver] I sure don't want to be a liar. with Janice and Jambres. I don't want to be grouped with the false teachers. I want to be one who receives the messengers of God so I can make sure that I receive the message of God. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us today. Lord, help us see how important it is to resist the truth, not to fight against the Word of God, but to bow to it.

[John Weaver] We may not always understand it, but we must believe it. We may not always grasp it, but we must bow to it. We may not, Lord, be the greatest intellects in the world, but the truth of the matter is, Lord, it is Your Word, and You alone can open our understanding and enable us to grasp and understand Thy truth. May we always be willing to bow and to worship and to receive whatever thou hast for us.

[John Weaver] In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

Resisting the Truth - Part 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	21106172219
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-01-01
Dictation Name
Book	Book 037: Resisting the Truth — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	82

Formatted Transcript

Introduction to 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Weaver introduces the passage and notes the sermon will be in two parts, focusing on resisting the truth.

2 Timothy 3, we're going to be reading verses 1 through 9. And the title of the message is "Resisting the Truth." And I want to just say up front that it's going to be in two parts. I will not be able to finish it this Sunday, but it will take next Sunday as well. So 2 Timothy 3, and let's begin reading with verse 1:

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 3:1-9

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."

The Nature of Resisting Truth

People often resist truth due to cognitive dissonance, denying what contradicts their lifelong beliefs.

Now, truth is so precious and so valuable, who would not want to know it, embrace it, believe it, and apply it? Who would want to believe a lie? Think about that. Who would want to follow error? Why is it that people fight against the truth and resist the truth and hate it? Some of you are aware that there is a theory known as cognitive dissonance. Let me explain that just momentarily. According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions, that is, among their beliefs, their understandings, their attitudes, and sometimes there is an inconsistency between what they believe and what they see happening or what they hear. That is dissonance. That is the inconsistency. So, therefore, there is a conflict between what they think and what they observe and what they hear, and they are fighting with what they are observing and yet what they believe and consequently many times they just simply fight against anything and everything because they're trying to eliminate the dissonance or the inconsistency between

what they believe or what they've been taught and what they're hearing and what they're observing. And usually what people do when they are faced with a problem like this: Many times they will change their own attitudes to conform to the behavior, or sometimes they change their behavior to conform to the attitudes. Now, whether the theory of cognitive dissonance is true or not, I'm not teaching that today, it is a fact that when we hear something contrary to what we have believed and have been taught all of our lives, our first response is to deny what we hear. Just stop and think about that. Whenever you hear something that's absolutely, totally contrary to what you've been taught and what you have believed all of your life, your first response is to deny what you hear. It seems as if we are incapable of even processing what we hear, much less entertaining facts that are contrary to what we have already been taught and what we've already heard. In fact, the truth is, when we hear truth that we've never heard before or have been taught before, we must hear that truth over and over and then slowly but surely we begin to grasp it and understand it and embrace it and change what we have formerly believed in order that we might believe the truth, which then will produce a change in our behavior.

Characteristics of False Teachers

False teachers are idolatrous, idiocrats, immoral, and intellectual, as described in 2 Timothy 3:2-7.

So how can there be a comparison? Well, let me tell you what the Apostle Paul does in 2 Timothy chapter 3. He gives us some general categories in which all false teachers fall. So it doesn't matter if you're talking about Jannes and Jambres in the days of Moses and Aaron, or false teachers in the days of Paul and Timothy, or false teachers in our day. Paul says, here are some general areas in which all false teachers will ultimately fall. What are they? Well, let's look at them. Let's begin with verse two. Let me just show you, first of all, verses two through four. Paul tells us that all false teachers are idolatrous. Look in verse 2.

He says, "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." So here they are, they are idolatrous. What are they doing? They're worshipping and serving the creature themselves more than the Creator. Their emphasis is upon their wants, their wishes, their desires, their will, and not God's will and God's desires. In other words, here are men that live simply for their own benefit and for their own pleasures. You could say it like this: They are a law unto themselves. They do what they please. In fact, if you will look in your Bibles, please, to Philippians chapter 3—hold 2 Timothy, but look in Philippians chapter 3—I want you to see that there is a verse of scripture that describes these men very aptly. Philippians chapter 3 and look in verse 19. Philippians 3 and verse 19, talking about being idolatrous and worshiping, serving the creature more than the creator. The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3 and verse 19, look what he says, talking about these wicked men "whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." Whose God is their belly. What's he saying?

And he's not just talking about food, but he's talking about anyone who just simply lives for his own pleasure. So here, Paul begins by saying all false teachers are idolatrous. It doesn't matter if we're talking about Jannes and Jambres. It doesn't matter about the false teachers in his day or the false teachers in our day. In our day, they're all idolatrous. That is the truth. Secondly, if you look in verse 5, he points out that they're all idiocrats. I'll explain that, but look in verse 5: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Now, not only are they idolaters, they are secondly, idiocrats. That is, they have a form of godliness. If you will look up the word "idiocracy," you will find that it means peculiar to oneself, or that which belongs to oneself, or that which is peculiar to a person. Now, how can I call them that? Well, he says they have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.

Here's what the false teachers do. They make up their rules as they go along. They make up their structure and their religion as they go along. Do you realize you can be as godly as you want to be as long as you can make up the rules yourself? It's kind of like there are many games that I've never played. But I don't care what game you give to me and want to play with me, I can always win if you let me make up the rules as I go along. That's exactly what these people were doing. They were idiocrats. They made up their rules. They had their own form. They had their own structure of religiosity. But there was no power, that is, no Holy Ghost power, no power of God in their lives. They were empty. Look in your Bibles, hold 2 Timothy, but turn to the book of Jude right before the book of Revelation. Look in the book of Jude at verses 12 and 13.

Here are some descriptions that fit these folks very properly. Jude 1 verse 12, look what our Lord says about these false teachers here and false believers. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jude 1:12-13

"These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."

Now, folks, let me ask you, how much more descriptive can you be? What about a wave of the sea? What's it do?

When it hits the land, it just spews forth all the filth and every vileness that is in it. What about a tree that its fruit is withered? And it's been plucked up by the roots. It's dead. It's barren. It never produces anything. Clouds without water. That's how he's describing these people. So they are idolatrous. They are idiocrats. They have a form of religion, but they are absolutely, totally powerless.

There's no power of God in their lives. There's no holiness according to Bible holiness. They have their own structure. But it is not a godly structure, so he says they're idolatrous and he also says that they are idiocrats. And then if you look in verse six, they are also immoral, he says, "for of this sort"—

Now he's still talking about these men. These false teachers were of this sort "which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts." Well, how could it be otherwise? Let me ask you a question. Think about this. If you have no law but your own law, and if you acknowledge no God but yourself, will you not naturally fulfill your own lusts? Well, of course, that's exactly what you do. Now, I want you to note something about these men. Look in verse 6.

Although they are immoral, they are not openly immoral. What they do, they do secretively, he says, "for of this sort are they which creep into houses." That is, they insinuate themselves into these houses and then they capture or make captive silly women. Now, interestingly enough, he describes what silly women are. He says in verse 6, there are women who are "laden with sins, led away with divers lusts." In other words, there are women who live by their feelings, who follow their lusts, who follow their desires. There are women who have no objective standard. That is, they do not adhere to the principle of the Word of God. If you do not have an objective standard, the only standard you could possibly have is subjective. Which means you do as you please. You do whatever you want to do. So they're called silly women and they've been led away captive. And when you don't live by principle, folks, you're easily captured and led away.

So what about these false teachers? They're idolaters. Yes, they're idiocrats. Yes, they're immoral. Yes, but that's not all. Look in verse seven. They are intellectual, "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Now, the sad thing is, humanly speaking, these false teachers are not dummies. They have a great deal of knowledge, intellect, and smarts. In all probability, that is the one thing that attracts a lot of people to false teachers. They're impressed with intellect. They're impressed with degrees.

"I'm Dr. So-and-so." And once you say that, boy, they are impressed. But don't you know what the Bible says? Look carefully now. Verse 7, "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." So it doesn't matter how intellectual they are. It doesn't matter how brilliant they are. The truth is they are never, ever able to come to a precise knowledge of the truth.

Now, let me explain something to you. There are two Greek words for knowledge. One of them is the word "gnosis," and by the way, that's where we get the word "Gnostic" from. When we talk about Gnosticism, which was a heresy in the New Testament times. And by the way, that heresy still exists today, just under a different name. But the Greek word "gnosis" just simply means knowledge. But the word "epignosis" means a full knowledge or a precise knowledge.

I want you to watch this. Look at verse 7. He says that these false teachers are "ever learning, and never able to come to the precise knowledge of the truth." Let me spell it out like this: They know a lot about the Bible, but they don't know the Bible. They know a lot about Christ, but they don't know Christ. You can have a head full of facts and a head full of knowledge and never, ever be genuinely converted. And you know what the Bible says in James chapter 3 and verse 15, talking about that kind of knowledge. He says, of course, this knowledge descends not from above, but it's earthly, sensual, and devilish. And in 1 Corinthians 8, the Bible says that kind of knowledge that they have just simply puffs up.

That is, it makes men arrogant, proud. Let me ask you a question. Do you think the precise knowledge of Jesus Christ that the Apostle Paul found on the Damascus Road made him proud, arrogant, and haughty? No. It humbled him. It brought him down to his knees, acknowledging that he was nothing and that Jesus Christ was everything. So here these men are, they are intellectual. Now, here's what the Apostle Paul is saying, that all false teachers of every age, it doesn't matter, we're talking about Jannes and Jambres, doesn't matter if we're talking about the false teachers in Paul's day or the false teachers in our day, they're always going to be idolatrous. They're always going to be idiocrats. They're always going to be immoral. And they're always, always going to be intellectual because that's their draw. But although they have knowledge, they do not have a precise knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Now, go back to verse one, let me show you something. We haven't even gotten started on the message yet, this is all introduction, OK? Look in verse one: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."

The Last Days Context

Paul indicates that the last days began with Christ's first coming, and false teachers are a sign of these times.

Now, I want you to notice what Paul is doing. Paul is writing to Timothy. And he says, "Timothy, I want you to understand something: that in the last days, perilous times are going to come." And then he begins to tell these perilous times by these false teachers. And then if you look in verse 8, "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses." What does he say now? "So do these also." Whoa! Did you just hear what he said? Paul is writing to Timothy and he is saying, just like Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, "so do these also." But what was the warning that he gave in verse one? "This know that"—when? tell me when—"in the last days, perilous times shall come." Then he said, "so do these also." In other words, according to Paul's own teaching, Paul and Timothy were living in the last days when 2 Timothy was written.

Now, let me show you how easily this is explained. Hold 2 Timothy, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter one. And I want you to see when the last days began. Then you can understand how Paul and Timothy were living in the last days. Notice Hebrews chapter one, beginning there with verse one:

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-2

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."

So when did the last days begin? In the first coming of Christ. We've been in the last days ever since Christ came. What does the Bible say? That God used to speak in old times by prophets and in different manners. But in verse 2,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-2

"hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son."

So we have been in the last days ever since our Lord came. And that's why Paul is telling Timothy, "You're in the last days and you've got false teachers there just like those men that withstood Moses by the name of Jannes and Jambres."

Now, let's ask this question. How did Jannes and Jambres withstand the truth? How did these false teachers withstand the truth? Let's ask an even more general question. How does anyone withstand or resist the truth? We're not even just talking about false prophets and false teachers now. We're talking about our next door neighbor. We're talking about the man down the street. We're talking about the person who's listening to my voice.

Resisting the Messengers of Truth

The first way to resist truth is by resisting its messengers, as Pharaoh did with Moses and Aaron.

How do you fight against? How do you resist the truth? Well, basically speaking, let me give it to you like this. There are two basic ways that you can really resist the truth. I'm only going to cover one of them today. The first way that you can resist the truth is this: by resisting the messengers of the truth. Look in verse eight: "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood" who? Moses. And of course, as they withstood Moses, they also withstood Aaron, who was his prophet, who was his mouthpiece.

So what did Pharaoh and the Egyptians do? They withstood or resisted the messengers of truth. Let me just put it very plainly to you. Moses and Aaron certainly were not greeted amicably. They were not received with open, loving, kind and gracious arms. They were not received as the special messengers sent by Jehovah. When Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh and his court, they approached a hostile audience. Neither Pharaoh nor his Egyptians desired to hear what Moses and Aaron had to say.

Now, I want you to see something. Hold 2 Timothy, but go back in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 5. I want you to watch this. Look in Exodus chapter 5. Because I want you to see their divine mission was denied. Their source of authority was denied. By Pharaoh. And therefore his court. Look in Exodus chapter 5. And after Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." Now notice, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel." Moses and Aaron are saying this: God sent us. Here's what God said. Here's what Pharaoh responded: "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."

Method 1: Imitation

False teachers imitate true messengers, producing counterfeits that only bring death, not life.

What did he just say? "I don't recognize your God. I don't recognize your source of authority. Therefore, I don't even recognize you as being sent of God. I don't recognize your divine mission. You're nobody. I don't have to listen to you." Now, how did Pharaoh and his court resist the messengers of God? I'm going to give you three ways. Listen carefully. We're going to take these one at a time. The first way they resisted the messengers of God was by imitation. Imitation. Do you realize it was supposed to be the miracles that Moses and Aaron performed that authenticated their ministry and authenticated their mission? It was these miracles that demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were indeed sent of God. Now, if Pharaoh's magicians could imitate these miracles, then it would discredit Moses and Aaron. How could they possibly claim to be the special messengers of God if Pharaoh's own magicians could do the exact same thing that Moses and Aaron could do?

Now, I don't know how familiar you are with the book of Exodus. I hope you're very familiar. But do you realize there were only three areas in which the magicians could imitate what Moses and Aaron did? Only three. And I'm not going to get into explaining all of these. I'm going to show them to you. First of all, they imitated the turning of the rod into serpents. OK, you'll find that in Exodus 7 verse 11. You remember that Aaron threw down his rod. It became a serpent. Then the magicians came forth, they threw down their rods, and they became serpents as well.

Now there's a practical explanation to how that they did it. But by the way, let me point out that when they threw down their rods, they became serpents. Guess what happened? The rod of Moses devoured their rods and their serpents, swallowed them down. They were able to imitate that through their sorcery, through their trickery. The second thing they were able to imitate was turning water into blood in Exodus 7 verse 22. The third thing they were able to imitate was calling the frogs up out of the river in Exodus chapter 8 in verse 7. Now watch this. The turning of the rod into the serpent can be easily explained. Making water turn red could be easily explained.

It may be done by the Egyptians, especially these magicians. Calling up frogs might could be easily explained. But when you get to the fourth miracle, when Moses turns the dust into lice, they cannot do that. Why? Because all Satan and his emissaries can do is imitate. They cannot create. Only God can give life. And I want you to listen to me very carefully. Imitation is not creation. And the magicians were able to bring forth death, but they were not able to bring forth life. And interestingly, listen to me, go back and read it in Exodus 7, 8 and 9. All the Egyptian magicians were able to do was to add to the misery that had already been sent upon the Egyptians by God. They could not stop the judgment. They could not thwart it. They could not hinder it. They could not turn it around. All they could do was add to the misery. They could add bloody water. They could call more frogs up, but that's it. They could not do anything else. They could not create life.

The only thing they produced was death. Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch carefully, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 1. Look what the Apostle Paul writes, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 1. He says, "Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me."

Then he tells them, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Then he says in verse 3, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." Now look, "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted"—what is he saying? Now watch. I'm going to show you just a moment. All Satan can do and all the false teachers can do is present another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. It is imitation. It is counterfeit. It is fake.

It is not the real thing. Now skip down to verse 14. Well, verse 13. He says, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." You see, all of the cults, all the isms, all the schisms that you can find today are imitations and counterfeits of the true gospel and of the true Christ. They're not the real thing. Thus, it is through imitation that false teachers deceive.

Now, look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 16. Turn back just a few pages. Romans 16. And the Bible tells us that one of the ways they deceive is through their fair speeches. That is, once again, using their intellect. Notice in Romans chapter 16, beginning there with verse 17. He says, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them."

"For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." So what does the Apostle Paul say? The Apostle Paul says when someone tries to draw you away from the doctrine of the Word of God, from the doctrine of Christ, from the truth of Scripture, he says you better mark them and have nothing to do with them because it's by their fair speeches and fair words. They're trying to deceive you and beguile you and draw you away. Thus, they use their intellect while they are serving themselves. Now, let me just explain this to you. You know, each one of us has our own sphere of understanding and sphere of reference. I could call and pronounce a word and some of you may think of three or four different things. I could even use the word "hunting." Now if I use the word "hunting," Dr. Holmes is going to think of either deer or turkey. Some of the women are going to think about hunting for an item that they want to buy. Some of us older folks are going to think about where we left our teeth or where we left our keys. The word "hunting" means different things to different people. Do you understand that? But I want you to understand the same thing is true when it comes to theology.

I can point out to you false teachers who are on the radio today and who are on the TV today who talk about Jesus Christ being the Son of God. And when you and I hear "Jesus Christ the Son of God," what do we immediately think of? We think, yes, Jesus Christ is the unique virgin-born Son of God, perfect God and perfect man, God incarnate. He's the only begotten of God. That's immediately what we think of. But that's not what the false teacher thinks about. When he says that he believes that Jesus Christ is a son of God, what he is saying is he believes that Jesus Christ is a son of God the way you and I are sons of God. In other words, he's just a good man. He's no better than we are and no more than we are. Now, I want you to notice what he's doing.

He's using the same terminology, but he has a totally different meaning behind his terminology. Now, that's what Paul is talking about with their fair speeches. That's why words are important. That's why definitions are important. That's why you must know what someone means by the words that he uses. So one of the ways, then, that you can resist the truth is by imitation. And you find all of these cults and isms, they're resisting the truth. How? They have their own imitation. That's why they need books over and above and beyond the Word of God. That's why they have to write their own version of the Bible. That's why they have to explain their own works and make everybody read those works other than the Word of God.

Like Jannes and Jambres, the only thing a false teacher can bring forth is death. He cannot produce life. Do you remember what our Lord said in Proverbs 8 and verse 36?

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 8:36

"But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."

So one way to resist the messengers of God is by imitation. Another way to resist the messengers of God is by insinuation.

Method 2: Insinuation

Insinuation attacks the character of messengers through subtle defamation, as seen with Moses, Jesus, and Paul.

Now there are other words that could be used for insinuation. I could have used the word defamation or vilification. You see, when one does not like the message, then the normal thing that you think of doing is to discredit the messenger and you discredit him by vilifying and defaming him, and one of the easiest ways to do that is by insinuation. I want you to understand, when you insinuate something, you do not necessarily have to openly attack someone. Let me ask you a question. Do you happen to know how old Moses and Aaron were when they confronted Pharaoh? I want you to stop and think. If you don't know, I'll tell you. You'll find it in Exodus 7 and verse 7, but Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old. You know, that's kind of like someone threatening to whip me and they send a 90 year old man to do it.

What am I going to do? I'm going to laugh. I'm going to say, "You think that 90-year-old man's going to whip me? You're mistaken." Well, can you not imagine what Pharaoh and his court did when they saw these two old men? Can you not hear them mocking these two old men? "Surely, if your God is going to send somebody, surely He would have sent a younger, stronger man, someone who could have faced us and dealt with us. Surely. You're too old to be used of God. You can't do anything."

What do you hope to accomplish while you can? Can you imagine the ridicule? I want you to understand something. I'm going to explain this because this is vitally important. Insinuation has been used throughout history to attack and destroy the character of godly men. Let me say that again. Insinuation has been used throughout history to attack and destroy the character of godly men. One of my favorite stories, and you've heard it, about the fellow who worked very hard.

He did carpentry work, etc. And so he went downtown to do some work and he parked his truck in front of the liquor store. And the church gossip saw it there. And she started spreading the word that he was hitting the bottle and evidently was a drunkard because his truck was parked in front of the liquor store. And when he heard it, he just took his truck that night and parked in front of her house and left. You see what I'm saying? That's insinuation. Did you know our Lord himself was the recipient of vile insinuations? Let me show you two of them. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 11. Matthew 11. You remember John the Baptist, of course, was different from our Lord. John did not drink wine and John, you know, ate locusts and honey. That was it. Well, look what our Lord said in Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11 and notice if you would please verse—let's begin there with verse 18. He says, "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil."

"Something's wrong with that man. He doesn't eat or drink. All he does is drink some wine and eats nothing but honey and locusts." Then in verse 19, "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber." So what did they accuse Christ of? Of being a glutton, being a winebibber. Well, that's not all. In fact, that's pretty nice compared to John 8. If you'll turn to John 8 and notice, if you would please there, verse 41. Our Lord is in a confrontation with these Pharisees in John 8 in verse 41.

And of course, he is besting them naturally. And notice what they say in John 8:41. Our Lord tells them, he says,

Scripture Reading — John 8:41

"Ye do the deeds of your father."

In other words, you're of the devil and you're doing the deeds of your father. Watch it in verse 41.

Scripture Reading — John 8:41

"Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."

What were they insinuating? They were insinuating that the virgin born sinless Son of God was a bastard. That's what they were saying. Can you imagine the blasphemy?

Scripture Reading — John 8:41

"We be not born of fornication. We know who our parents are."

Insinuation. Do you realize the Apostle Paul himself had to face that? Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. And notice if you would, what he says there in verse 10. 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 10. In fact, this whole passage deals with Paul basically defending himself because of the insinuation of the Judaizers. In 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 10, look what they said concerning the Apostle Paul.

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 10:10

"For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."

"Who does he think he is? He writes strong, but look at him. That sickly, emaciated little punk. Who does he think he is?" That's what they're doing. In fact, if you look at 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 3, they so tried to discredit the Apostle Paul by insinuation that they even cast doubts into the minds of these believers that Christ could even speak through Paul. So in 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 3, he tells them, "Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you." Insinuation. By the way,

I hope you know that Judaizers are not the only ones who use that tactic. I want you to turn in your Bible, since you're close there, to Ephesians chapter 4 and look at verse 31. I'm going to explain this and then I'm going to show you something. Ephesians 4 verse 31. God tells us there are certain things that have been put away, put off. It's not to be in our lives. Verse 31 he says, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." Now I want you to notice "evil speaking." You know what I could do? I could say, "Boy, that Ed Wolfe, let me tell you some things about that rascal" and I could just lower the boom on him. That's evil speaking. I mean, let me tell you something folks. Whether or not some things are true is immaterial. Even some things that are true do not need to be repeated. Do you understand that? Just because something really truly happened does not mean that you have to go up and down as a tattletale, or as scripture says, as a tailbearer among your people.

But now let me show you something. I don't have to sit here and say, "Well, let me tell you something about Ed Wolfe" and just lower the boom. I don't have to do that. Doc could come up to me and say, "You know, I really like Ed Wolfe." And I could look at Doc and say, "You wouldn't say that if you knew what I knew."

Now, have I said anything bad about him? Have I repeated anything? No. But what have I done? I've insinuated. I've insinuated that I know something that he doesn't know, and if he knew what I knew, he really wouldn't like him, and he really wouldn't be friends with him, and he really wouldn't have anything to do with him. When God says put away all evil speaking, it includes insinuation. How do you resist the messengers of God? Now listen. Imitation. Insinuation and one more. Intimidation. Intimidation.

Method 3: Intimidation

Intimidation uses threats to silence messengers, from Pharaoh to modern pressures on pastors.

Look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 10. Exodus chapter 10. You remember how Moses and Aaron have not only bested the sorcerers and the magicians of Egypt. They've also bested Pharaoh. In Exodus chapter 10 and verse 28, Pharaoh is fed up with it. And look what he says. Exodus 10 verse 28, "And Pharaoh said unto him"—that is to Moses and Aaron—"Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die." And Moses said, "Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more." Now, what was Moses doing? Moses was saying, "Pharaoh, you think you have threatened me. You think you have intimidated me. But you've spoken your own death sentence."

Now, please listen to this, folks. When Pharaoh told Moses, "Get thee hence, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt surely die." Can a threat get any plainer? I mean, think about it. Pharaoh was an absolute ruler. Pharaoh believed that he held life and death in his hand, and he said to Moses, "When you come back to see me, I'll have you executed. That's it." Intimidation. You know, it's amazing as you read through scripture how intimidation is used. Do you remember when Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal? You remember that on Mount Carmel? But when you get to 1 Kings 19 and verse 2, Queen Jezebel said this. She sent a messenger to Elijah and said, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time." But she said, "Elijah, I'm going to cut your head off just the way you cut off the heads of my prophets. So let the gods do to me, and more also, if by this time tomorrow you are not dead just like them." I'm going to tell you now, you've got to remember Ahab and Jezebel were wicked, cruel tyrants. That's when Elijah said, "I think it's time for me to leave town." That's when he went to the mountain. That's when God met him. You know, Amos was threatened the same way. In Amos 7 and verse 12 and 13, let me tell you, Amos went to the palace to preach against Jeroboam II.

Now, Jeroboam II had a statist priest, Amaziah, and here's what Amaziah said to Amos. I like this. He said, "Amos, O thou seer"—that is, O thou prophet—"go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court." Now, listen to what he said. "O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah." In other words, you live in Judah. You don't live in northern Israel. You're part of the southern kingdom. You're not part of the northern kingdom. You go back home and there you eat bread. That is if you want to eat bread. Because if you stay up here, we're going to kill you.

Because this is the king's chapel. This is the king's court. Intimidation? Oh yeah.

Now, you say, "But Brother Weaver, God's preachers today—most of them are threatened with the loss of their life." Oh, I know that. Some are. I've got friends who have been threatened. I've been threatened. But let me tell you something. You can intimidate a man in more ways than one. You know what happens to the average pastor? The average pastor is so intimidated by the Board of Deacons or by the rich man or the rich woman in church that he's afraid to preach the whole counsel of God. "Preacher, if you preach something we don't like, we'll get mad. We'll just leave." You know, that's intimidation. That's manipulation. That's when you try to control an individual. What are you doing? Now listen to me. When you intimidate or try to intimidate in any way whatsoever the messenger of the truth, you are resisting, you are withstanding the truth. You're saying in essence, "I don't want to hear it."

Consequences of Resisting Messengers

Resisting God's messengers is resisting God Himself, leading to judgment as in 2 Chronicles 36.

"I'll have nothing to do with it." Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 36. Let me just show you this. 2 Chronicles 36 and look at verse 15. 2 Chronicles 36 verse 15. Look what the Bible says: "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them"—that is, sent to his people. "The Lord God of their fathers sent to them"—to the people—"by his messengers"—that is, His prophets, His preachers. He sent to them by His messengers, "rising up betimes, and sending." Why did God send the preachers? Here's why: "because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place." Well, what did the people do to the preachers? Watch. "But they mocked the messengers of God."

That is, they intimidated them. They made fun of them. They belittled them. "And despised his"—that is God's—"words, and misused his"—that is God's—"prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." What is God saying? God is saying you cannot have one attitude toward me and another one toward my messengers. If you resist the messenger of truth, you are at the same time resisting the one who sent the messenger of truth. You know what our Lord said in Matthew 10 in verse 40?

He told his disciples, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." So when we receive Christ, we receive the Father who sent Christ. When we receive Christ's servants, we receive Christ. But the opposite is also true. When we resist and stand against the servants of Christ, we're resisting and standing against and failing to receive Christ himself. And when we resist and stand against Christ, we're resisting and standing against the Father who sent Christ.

Application and Prayer

Weaver urges listeners to receive God's messengers and truth, not align with false teachers, and closes in prayer.

There are a multitude of reasons today of why God's preachers are so despised, hated and rejected. But I'm going to tell you, one of the main reasons is because people hate truth. And one of the ways to fight against the truth is to fight against the man who brings the truth. And when you do so, you're doing exactly what Jannes and Jambres did to Moses and Aaron. You're doing exactly what the false teachers did in the days of Paul and Timothy. Exactly what the false teachers are doing today. You're doing exactly what all wicked men do. You're fighting and resisting the truth.

I sure don't want to be aligned with Jannes and Jambres. I don't want to be grouped with the false teachers. I want to be one who receives the messengers of God so I can make sure that I receive the message of God. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us today. Lord, help us see how important it is to resist the truth, not to fight against the Word of God, but to bow to it. We may not always understand it, but we must believe it. We may not always grasp it, but we must bow to it. We may not, Lord, be the greatest intellects in the world, but the truth of the matter is, Lord, it is Your Word, and You alone can open our understanding and enable us to grasp and understand Thy truth. May we always be willing to bow and to worship and to receive whatever Thou hast for us.

In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Resisting the Truth

Summary: People naturally resist truth that contradicts their beliefs, often due to cognitive dissonance.

Evidence: Weaver explains cognitive dissonance and how people deny truth when it conflicts with lifelong teachings.

Characteristics of False Teachers

Summary: False teachers are idolatrous, idiocrats, immoral, and intellectual, lacking true knowledge of Christ.

Evidence: Weaver details these traits from 2 Timothy 3:2-7, emphasizing their self-worship and powerless religion.

Imitation as Deception

Summary: False teachers imitate true messengers, producing counterfeits that only bring death, not life.

Evidence: Weaver cites Jannes and Jambres imitating Moses' miracles and warns of 'another Jesus' and 'another gospel.'

Insinuation Against Messengers

Summary: Insinuation subtly attacks the character of truth-bearers to discredit their message.

Evidence: Examples include Pharaoh mocking Moses' age, Pharisees insinuating Jesus was illegitimate, and gossip in the church.

Intimidation of God's Servants

Summary: Intimidation uses threats to silence messengers, from ancient prophets to modern pastors.

Evidence: Weaver references Pharaoh's death threat, Jezebel's threat to Elijah, and modern pressures on pastors.

Rejecting Messengers is Rejecting God

Summary: Resisting God's messengers is equivalent to resisting God Himself, leading to judgment.

Evidence: Weaver cites 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 and Matthew 10:40 to show the unity between God and His messengers.

Key Arguments

False teachers are consistent across ages

Summary: Paul compares Jannes and Jambres to contemporary false teachers, showing they share idolatrous, idiocratic, immoral, and intellectual traits.

Evidence: Weaver explains that Paul's use of 'so do these also' links ancient and modern false teachers.

Imitation is a primary tactic of false teachers

Summary: False teachers imitate true miracles and teachings, but their counterfeits only produce death, not life.

Evidence: Weaver notes the magicians could only imitate three miracles and could not create life, paralleling false gospels today.

Insinuation destroys character without direct accusation

Summary: Insinuation subtly undermines messengers by implying hidden faults, as seen in biblical and modern examples.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates with the gossip's truck story and biblical insinuations against Jesus and Paul.

Intimidation silences truth through fear

Summary: Threats of harm or loss are used to stop messengers, from Pharaoh to modern church pressures.

Evidence: Weaver cites Pharaoh's death threat, Jezebel's threat, and how pastors are intimidated by influential members.

Resisting messengers is resisting God

Summary: The Bible teaches that how one treats God's messengers reflects their treatment of God Himself.

Evidence: Weaver references 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 and Matthew 10:40 to establish this principle.

Scripture References

2 Timothy 3:1-9

Context: Primary text describing perilous times and false teachers, including Jannes and Jambres.

2 Thessalonians 2

Context: Mentioned as teaching that some hate truth because they love unrighteousness.

Philippians 3:19

Context: Describes false teachers whose god is their belly, illustrating idolatry.

Jude 1:12-13

Context: Describes false teachers as clouds without water, trees without fruit, etc.

James 3:15

Context: Describes earthly, sensual, devilish wisdom.

1 Corinthians 8

Context: Knowledge puffs up, contrasting with true knowledge of Christ.

Hebrews 1:1-2

Context: Shows the last days began with Christ's first coming.

Exodus 5:2

Context: Pharaoh denies knowing the Lord, resisting Moses' divine mission.

Exodus 7:11

Context: Magicians imitate turning rods into serpents.

Exodus 7:22

Context: Magicians imitate turning water to blood.

Exodus 8:7

Context: Magicians imitate bringing frogs.

2 Corinthians 11:1-4, 13-15

Context: Warns of another Jesus, spirit, gospel; Satan transforms into angel of light.

Romans 16:17-18

Context: False teachers deceive by fair speeches, serving their own belly.

Proverbs 8:36

Context: Those who hate wisdom love death.

Exodus 7:7

Context: Moses was 80 and Aaron 83 when they confronted Pharaoh.

Matthew 11:18-19

Context: Jesus was accused of being a glutton and winebibber.

John 8:41

Context: Pharisees insinuate Jesus was born of fornication.

2 Corinthians 10:10

Context: Paul's bodily presence was weak and speech contemptible.

2 Corinthians 13:3

Context: They sought proof of Christ speaking in Paul.

Ephesians 4:31

Context: Put away evil speaking, which includes insinuation.

Historical References

Jannes and Jambres

Context: Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron, named in 2 Timothy 3:8.

Pharaoh and the Exodus

Context: Pharaoh resisted Moses' message, and his magicians imitated some miracles.

Elijah and Jezebel

Context: Jezebel threatened Elijah after he killed the prophets of Baal.

Amos and Amaziah

Context: Amaziah, priest of Jeroboam II, told Amos to flee and prophesy in Judah.

Important Quotes

Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

Significance: Key verse linking ancient and modern false teachers in resisting truth.

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Significance: Describes false teachers as idiocrats with outward religion but no true power.

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Significance: Highlights the intellectual but spiritually ignorant nature of false teachers.

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Significance: Shows that imitation and deception are Satanic tactics.

He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Significance: Establishes the direct link between receiving messengers and receiving God.

Discussion Questions

Why do people naturally resist truth that contradicts their long-held beliefs?

Context: Weaver discusses cognitive dissonance and the tendency to deny new truth.

How can we discern between true and false teachers today?

Context: Weaver outlines characteristics of false teachers: idolatrous, idiocrats, immoral, intellectual.

In what ways might we be guilty of insinuation against God's messengers?

Context: Weaver explains insinuation as subtle character attacks, even among believers.

How does intimidation manifest in the church today, and how should we respond?

Context: Weaver gives examples of pastors being pressured by influential members.

What does it mean to receive a messenger of God, and why is it equivalent to receiving Christ?

Context: Weaver cites Matthew 10:40 to show the unity between God and His messengers.

Applications

Examine your response to new truth

Summary: Recognize the tendency to resist truth that challenges your beliefs and be open to correction.

Evidence: Weaver explains cognitive dissonance and how we must hear truth repeatedly to embrace it.

Test teachers by their fruit and doctrine

Summary: Evaluate teachers based on whether they exhibit idolatry, self-made religion, immorality, or mere intellectualism.

Evidence: Weaver details the four characteristics of false teachers from 2 Timothy 3.

Avoid evil speaking and insinuation

Summary: Put away all insinuation and gossip, which destroy the character of others and resist God's work.

Evidence: Weaver warns that insinuation is a form of evil speaking condemned in Ephesians 4:31.

Do not intimidate or manipulate God's messengers

Summary: Support pastors to preach the whole counsel of God without fear of backlash or loss.

Evidence: Weaver describes how pastors are often intimidated by threats of leaving or withholding support.

Receive God's messengers as receiving Christ

Summary: Treat those who bring biblical truth with honor, recognizing that rejecting them is rejecting God.

Evidence: Weaver cites Matthew 10:40 and 2 Chronicles 36:16 to show the serious implications.

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Clean Transcript

Resisting the Truth - Part 1

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

2 Timothy 3, we're going to be reading verses 1 through 9. And the title of the message is "Resisting the Truth." And I want to just say up front that it's going to be in two parts. I will not be able to finish it this Sunday, but it will take next Sunday as well. So 2 Timothy 3, and let's begin reading with verse 1: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."
#1 | 0:01 to 0:28 | cleaned
"For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
#2 | 0:29 to 1:07 | cleaned
"Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was." Now the Bible specifically says in verse 8 that Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses. That is, they resisted the truth. Then the Apostle Paul says that likewise there are those that were alive in his day as well as those who are alive in our day who resist the truth as well. That is, they purposefully and deliberately resist the truth.
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Now, truth is so precious and so valuable, who would not want to know it, embrace it, believe it, and apply it? Who would want to believe a lie? Think about that. Who would want to follow error? Why is it that people fight against the truth and resist the truth and hate it? Some of you are aware that there is a theory known as cognitive dissonance. Let me explain that just momentarily. According to the theory of cognitive dissonance, there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions, that is, among their beliefs, their understandings, their attitudes, and sometimes there is an inconsistency between what they believe and what they see happening or what they hear. That is dissonance. That is the inconsistency. So, therefore, there is a conflict between what they think and what they observe and what they hear, and they are fighting with what they are observing and yet what they believe and consequently many times they just simply fight against anything and everything because they're trying to eliminate the dissonance or the inconsistency between
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what they believe or what they've been taught and what they're hearing and what they're observing. And usually what people do when they are faced with a problem like this: Many times they will change their own attitudes to conform to the behavior, or sometimes they change their behavior to conform to the attitudes.
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Now, whether the theory of cognitive dissonance is true or not, I'm not teaching that today, it is a fact that when we hear something contrary to what we have believed and have been taught all of our lives, our first response is to deny what we hear. Just stop and think about that. Whenever you hear something that's absolutely, totally contrary to what you've been taught and what you have believed all of your life, your first response is to deny what you hear. It seems as if we are incapable of even processing what we hear, much less entertaining facts that are contrary to what we have already been taught and what we've already heard. In fact, the truth is, when we hear truth that we've never heard before or have been taught before, we must hear that truth over and over and then slowly but surely we begin to grasp it and understand it and embrace it and change what we have formerly believed in order that we might believe the truth, which then will produce a change in our behavior.
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And interestingly, after we have embraced the truth, we wonder why we fought against it to begin with. I never will forget when I first started taking Greek. I took Greek for three years. The first year I took Greek, I thought, "Oh, Lord, have mercy. I will never learn this stuff." The second year I took Greek, I thought, "Well, this is not so difficult." And the third year, I thought, "Why did I ever complain to begin with?"
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It's as easy as falling off a log. You see what I'm saying? But when you first hear things that you've never ever heard before, your first response is to either deny it or say that can never be. Do you realize it is extremely disconcerting to discover that what you have heard all of your life and what you have been taught all of your life has been error and wrong? We fight against truth many times simply because we do not want to be proven wrong or we do not want our family and our friends to be in error and we recognize that if what someone is teaching is truth, then that means our family and our friends have always been in error.
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Now, this is especially true in relationship to history and religion. Let me ask you: Can you imagine what it must be like for a Muslim or Roman Catholic to come to the true saving faith in the true saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? You stop and think about that for a moment. That means they have to reject everything that they have been taught from a child. The same thing is true when an Arminian comes to the knowledge and belief of God's absolute sovereignty. He has to say, "Wait a minute, everything just about that I've been taught has been wrong," and he has to reinterpret everything then in light of God's absolute sovereignty.
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So I'm just simply saying, folks, it is a fact that it is disconcerting sometimes to hear things that we've never heard before. And our natural tendency is to fight against truth when we hear it for the first time.
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Now, the Scripture tells us, and we'll look at this a little bit later on, the Scripture does tell us that there are those who hate the truth simply because it is truth. And they love unrighteousness far more than they love truth. You'll find that in 2 Thessalonians 2. We're not going to turn there now. But the Bible does say that some people just simply hate truth because they love unrighteousness.
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Now the Bible is speaking here particularly about Jannes and Jambres. Here are two men that resisted Moses and Aaron. You will read about these two men back in the book of Exodus. Jannes and Jambres were undoubtedly the head or lead magicians and sorcerers under Pharaoh. Now, undoubtedly, Pharaoh had many more magicians and many more sorcerers, but these two probably were his best, and they were singled out to defeat Moses and Aaron. Now, the Scripture tells us, look in verse 8, that they withstood Moses. So these two men then were chosen specifically to withstand Moses. Now the word "withstood" is the Greek word "anthistemi" which means to resist, to withstand, to oppose, to set oneself against. So here were two men who purposefully and deliberately set themselves against and resisted and withstood everything that Moses and Aaron stood for and said. Now, moreover, when you look at this word "withstood," it is a present middle indicative, which may not mean a thing to you, but if you understand Greek, it just simply means this: that they were doing it themselves, and they were doing it purposefully and deliberately, and that they were doing it consistently and constantly and continually.
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In other words, their withstanding the truth was not a one-time act, but it was a constant and continual act. Now look in verse 8 again. Look what he says, "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses," now look, "so do these"—he's talking about the false teachers—"so do these also resist the truth." Now the word "resist" in verse 8 is exactly the same word as "withstood" in verse 8. So he's talking about men who are purposefully resisting the truth. Moreover, I want you to understand that the tense is exactly the same. The mood is exactly the same in the Greek, which means that these false teachers were doing exactly what Jannes and Jambres were doing in the days of Moses and Aaron. So here's what Paul is saying in verse eight. Paul is saying that modern day false teachers, that is modern day, according to Paul and Timothy, were doing exactly the same thing to the truth that Jannes and Jambres were doing in Egypt before Moses and Aaron.
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Now let me ask you a simple question. How in the world could the false teachers in Paul and Timothy's day, how could they even be compared to the magicians and the sorcerers in Egypt during the time of Moses and Aaron? I mean, after all, we're talking about thousands of years that have intervened. And moreover, the false teachers in 2 Timothy chapter 3 do not claim to be magicians or sorcerers.
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So how can there be a comparison? Well, let me tell you what the Apostle Paul does in 2 Timothy chapter 3. He gives us some general categories in which all false teachers fall. So it doesn't matter if you're talking about Jannes and Jambres in the days of Moses and Aaron, or false teachers in the days of Paul and Timothy, or false teachers in our day. Paul says, here are some general areas in which all false teachers will ultimately fall. What are they? Well, let's look at them. Let's begin with verse two. Let me just show you, first of all, verses two through four. Paul tells us that all false teachers are idolatrous. Look in verse 2.
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He says, "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God." So here they are, they are idolatrous. What are they doing? They're worshipping and serving the creature themselves more than the Creator. Their emphasis is upon their wants, their wishes, their desires, their will, and not God's will and God's desires. In other words, here are men that live simply for their own benefit and for their own pleasures.
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You could say it like this: They are a law unto themselves. They do what they please. In fact, if you will look in your Bibles, please, to Philippians chapter 3—hold 2 Timothy, but look in Philippians chapter 3—I want you to see that there is a verse of scripture that describes these men very aptly. Philippians chapter 3 and look in verse 19. Philippians 3 and verse 19, talking about being idolatrous and worshiping, serving the creature more than the creator. The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3 and verse 19, look what he says, talking about these wicked men "whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." Whose God is their belly. What's he saying?
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And he's not just talking about food, but he's talking about anyone who just simply lives for his own pleasure. So here, Paul begins by saying all false teachers are idolatrous. It doesn't matter if we're talking about Jannes and Jambres. It doesn't matter about the false teachers in his day or the false teachers in our day. In our day, they're all idolatrous. That is the truth.
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Secondly, if you look in verse 5, he points out that they're all idiocrats. I'll explain that, but look in verse 5: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." Now, not only are they idolaters, they are secondly, idiocrats. That is, they have a form of godliness. If you will look up the word "idiocracy," you will find that it means peculiar to oneself, or that which belongs to oneself, or that which is peculiar to a person. Now, how can I call them that? Well, he says they have a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.
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Here's what the false teachers do. They make up their rules as they go along. They make up their structure and their religion as they go along. Do you realize you can be as godly as you want to be as long as you can make up the rules yourself? It's kind of like there are many games that I've never played. But I don't care what game you give to me and want to play with me, I can always win if you let me make up the rules as I go along.
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That's exactly what these people were doing. They were idiocrats. They made up their rules. They had their own form. They had their own structure of religiosity. But there was no power, that is, no Holy Ghost power, no power of God in their lives. They were empty. Look in your Bibles, hold 2 Timothy, but turn to the book of Jude right before the book of Revelation. Look in the book of Jude at verses 12 and 13.
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Here are some descriptions that fit these folks very properly. Jude 1 verse 12, look what our Lord says about these false teachers here and false believers. He says, "These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever." Now, folks, let me ask you, how much more descriptive can you be? What about a wave of the sea? What's it do?
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When it hits the land, it just spews forth all the filth and every vileness that is in it. What about a tree that its fruit is withered? And it's been plucked up by the roots. It's dead. It's barren. It never produces anything. Clouds without water. That's how he's describing these people. So they are idolatrous. They are idiocrats. They have a form of religion, but they are absolutely, totally powerless.
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There's no power of God in their lives. There's no holiness according to Bible holiness. They have their own structure. But it is not a godly structure, so he says they're idolatrous and he also says that they are idiocrats. And then if you look in verse six, they are also immoral, he says, "for of this sort"—
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Now he's still talking about these men. These false teachers were of this sort "which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts." Well, how could it be otherwise? Let me ask you a question. Think about this. If you have no law but your own law, and if you acknowledge no God but yourself, will you not naturally fulfill your own lusts? Well, of course, that's exactly what you do. Now, I want you to note something about these men. Look in verse 6.
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Although they are immoral, they are not openly immoral. What they do, they do secretively, he says, "for of this sort are they which creep into houses." That is, they insinuate themselves into these houses and then they capture or make captive silly women. Now, interestingly enough, he describes what silly women are. He says in verse 6, there are women who are "laden with sins, led away with divers lusts." In other words, there are women who live by their feelings, who follow their lusts, who follow their desires. There are women who have no objective standard.
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That is, they do not adhere to the principle of the Word of God. If you do not have an objective standard, the only standard you could possibly have is subjective. Which means you do as you please. You do whatever you want to do. So they're called silly women and they've been led away captive. And when you don't live by principle, folks, you're easily captured and led away.
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So what about these false teachers? They're idolaters. Yes, they're idiocrats. Yes, they're immoral. Yes, but that's not all. Look in verse seven. They are intellectual, "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." Now, the sad thing is, humanly speaking, these false teachers are not dummies. They have a great deal of knowledge, intellect, and smarts. In all probability, that is the one thing that attracts a lot of people to false teachers. They're impressed with intellect. They're impressed with degrees.
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"I'm Dr. So-and-so." And once you say that, boy, they are impressed. But don't you know what the Bible says? Look carefully now. Verse 7, "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." So it doesn't matter how intellectual they are. It doesn't matter how brilliant they are. The truth is they are never, ever able to come to a precise knowledge of the truth.
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Now, let me explain something to you. There are two Greek words for knowledge. One of them is the word "gnosis," and by the way, that's where we get the word "Gnostic" from. When we talk about Gnosticism, which was a heresy in the New Testament times. And by the way, that heresy still exists today, just under a different name. But the Greek word "gnosis" just simply means knowledge. But the word "epignosis" means a full knowledge or a precise knowledge.
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I want you to watch this. Look at verse 7. He says that these false teachers are "ever learning, and never able to come to the precise knowledge of the truth." Let me spell it out like this: They know a lot about the Bible, but they don't know the Bible. They know a lot about Christ, but they don't know Christ. You can have a head full of facts and a head full of knowledge and never, ever be genuinely converted. And you know what the Bible says in James chapter 3 and verse 15, talking about that kind of knowledge. He says, of course, this knowledge descends not from above, but it's earthly, sensual, and devilish. And in 1 Corinthians 8, the Bible says that kind of knowledge that they have just simply puffs up.
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That is, it makes men arrogant, proud. Let me ask you a question. Do you think the precise knowledge of Jesus Christ that the Apostle Paul found on the Damascus Road made him proud, arrogant, and haughty? No. It humbled him. It brought him down to his knees, acknowledging that he was nothing and that Jesus Christ was everything. So here these men are, they are intellectual. Now, here's what the Apostle Paul is saying, that all false teachers of every age, it doesn't matter, we're talking about Jannes and Jambres, doesn't matter if we're talking about the false teachers in Paul's day or the false teachers in our day, they're always going to be idolatrous. They're always going to be idiocrats. They're always going to be immoral. And they're always, always going to be intellectual because that's their draw. But although they have knowledge, they do not have a precise knowledge of Jesus Christ.
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Now, go back to verse one, let me show you something. We haven't even gotten started on the message yet, this is all introduction, OK? Look in verse one: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."
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Now, I want you to notice what Paul is doing. Paul is writing to Timothy. And he says, "Timothy, I want you to understand something: that in the last days, perilous times are going to come." And then he begins to tell these perilous times by these false teachers. And then if you look in verse 8, "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses." What does he say now? "So do these also." Whoa!
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Did you just hear what he said? Paul is writing to Timothy and he is saying, just like Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, "so do these also." But what was the warning that he gave in verse one? "This know that"—when? tell me when—"in the last days, perilous times shall come." Then he said, "so do these also." In other words, according to Paul's own teaching, Paul and Timothy were living in the last days when 2 Timothy was written.
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Now, let me show you how easily this is explained. Hold 2 Timothy, but turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter one. And I want you to see when the last days began. Then you can understand how Paul and Timothy were living in the last days. Notice Hebrews chapter one, beginning there with verse one: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." So when did the last days begin?
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In the first coming of Christ. We've been in the last days ever since Christ came. What does the Bible say? That God used to speak in old times by prophets and in different manners. But in verse 2, "hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." So we have been in the last days ever since our Lord came. And that's why Paul is telling Timothy, "You're in the last days and you've got false teachers there just like those men that withstood Moses by the name of Jannes and Jambres."
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Now, let's ask this question. How did Jannes and Jambres withstand the truth? How did these false teachers withstand the truth? Let's ask an even more general question. How does anyone withstand or resist the truth? We're not even just talking about false prophets and false teachers now. We're talking about our next door neighbor. We're talking about the man down the street. We're talking about the person who's listening to my voice.
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How do you fight against? How do you resist the truth? Well, basically speaking, let me give it to you like this. There are two basic ways that you can really resist the truth. I'm only going to cover one of them today. The first way that you can resist the truth is this: by resisting the messengers of the truth. Look in verse eight: "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood" who? Moses. And of course, as they withstood Moses, they also withstood Aaron, who was his prophet, who was his mouthpiece.
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So what did Pharaoh and the Egyptians do? They withstood or resisted the messengers of truth. Let me just put it very plainly to you. Moses and Aaron certainly were not greeted amicably. They were not received with open, loving, kind and gracious arms. They were not received as the special messengers sent by Jehovah. When Moses and Aaron approached Pharaoh and his court, they approached a hostile audience. Neither Pharaoh nor his Egyptians desired to hear what Moses and Aaron had to say.
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Now, I want you to see something. Hold 2 Timothy, but go back in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 5. I want you to watch this. Look in Exodus chapter 5. Because I want you to see their divine mission was denied. Their source of authority was denied. By Pharaoh. And therefore his court. Look in Exodus chapter 5. And after Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." Now notice, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel." Moses and Aaron are saying this: God sent us. Here's what God said. Here's what Pharaoh responded: "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."
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What did he just say? "I don't recognize your God. I don't recognize your source of authority. Therefore, I don't even recognize you as being sent of God. I don't recognize your divine mission. You're nobody. I don't have to listen to you." Now, how did Pharaoh and his court resist the messengers of God? I'm going to give you three ways. Listen carefully. We're going to take these one at a time. The first way they resisted the messengers of God was by imitation. Imitation. Do you realize it was supposed to be the miracles that Moses and Aaron performed that authenticated their ministry and authenticated their mission? It was these miracles that demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were indeed sent of God. Now, if Pharaoh's magicians could imitate these miracles, then it would discredit Moses and Aaron. How could they possibly claim to be the special messengers of God if Pharaoh's own magicians could do the exact same thing that Moses and Aaron could do?
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Now, I don't know how familiar you are with the book of Exodus. I hope you're very familiar. But do you realize there were only three areas in which the magicians could imitate what Moses and Aaron did? Only three. And I'm not going to get into explaining all of these. I'm going to show them to you. First of all, they imitated the turning of the rod into serpents. OK, you'll find that in Exodus 7 verse 11. You remember that Aaron threw down his rod. It became a serpent. Then the magicians came forth, they threw down their rods, and they became serpents as well.
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Now there's a practical explanation to how that they did it. But by the way, let me point out that when they threw down their rods, they became serpents. Guess what happened? The rod of Moses devoured their rods and their serpents, swallowed them down. They were able to imitate that through their sorcery, through their trickery. The second thing they were able to imitate was turning water into blood in Exodus 7 verse 22. The third thing they were able to imitate was calling the frogs up out of the river in Exodus chapter 8 in verse 7. Now watch this. The turning of the rod into the serpent can be easily explained. Making water turn red could be easily explained.
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It may be done by the Egyptians, especially these magicians. Calling up frogs might could be easily explained. But when you get to the fourth miracle, when Moses turns the dust into lice, they cannot do that. Why? Because all Satan and his emissaries can do is imitate. They cannot create. Only God can give life. And I want you to listen to me very carefully. Imitation is not creation. And the magicians were able to bring forth death, but they were not able to bring forth life. And interestingly, listen to me, go back and read it in Exodus 7, 8 and 9. All the Egyptian magicians were able to do was to add to the misery that had already been sent upon the Egyptians by God. They could not stop the judgment. They could not thwart it. They could not hinder it. They could not turn it around. All they could do was add to the misery. They could add bloody water. They could call more frogs up, but that's it. They could not do anything else. They could not create life.
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The only thing they produced was death. Now, I want you to look in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11, and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Watch carefully, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 1. Look what the Apostle Paul writes, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 1. He says, "Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me."
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Then he tells them, "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Then he says in verse 3, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
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Now look, "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted"—what is he saying? Now watch. I'm going to show you just a moment. All Satan can do and all the false teachers can do is present another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. It is imitation. It is counterfeit. It is fake.
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It is not the real thing. Now skip down to verse 14. Well, verse 13. He says, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." You see, all of the cults, all the isms, all the schisms that you can find today are imitations and counterfeits of the true gospel and of the true Christ. They're not the real thing. Thus, it is through imitation that false teachers deceive.
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Now, look in your Bibles to Romans chapter 16. Turn back just a few pages. Romans 16. And the Bible tells us that one of the ways they deceive is through their fair speeches. That is, once again, using their intellect. Notice in Romans chapter 16, beginning there with verse 17. He says, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them."
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"For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." So what does the Apostle Paul say? The Apostle Paul says when someone tries to draw you away from the doctrine of the Word of God, from the doctrine of Christ, from the truth of Scripture, he says you better mark them and have nothing to do with them because it's by their fair speeches and fair words. They're trying to deceive you and beguile you and draw you away.
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Thus, they use their intellect while they are serving themselves. Now, let me just explain this to you. You know, each one of us has our own sphere of understanding and sphere of reference. I could call and pronounce a word and some of you may think of three or four different things. I could even use the word "hunting." Now if I use the word "hunting," Dr. Holmes is going to think of either deer or turkey. Some of the women are going to think about hunting for an item that they want to buy. Some of us older folks are going to think about where we left our teeth or where we left our keys. The word "hunting" means different things to different people. Do you understand that? But I want you to understand the same thing is true when it comes to theology.
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I can point out to you false teachers who are on the radio today and who are on the TV today who talk about Jesus Christ being the Son of God. And when you and I hear "Jesus Christ the Son of God," what do we immediately think of? We think, yes, Jesus Christ is the unique virgin-born Son of God, perfect God and perfect man, God incarnate. He's the only begotten of God. That's immediately what we think of. But that's not what the false teacher thinks about. When he says that he believes that Jesus Christ is a son of God, what he is saying is he believes that Jesus Christ is a son of God the way you and I are sons of God. In other words, he's just a good man. He's no better than we are and no more than we are. Now, I want you to notice what he's doing.
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He's using the same terminology, but he has a totally different meaning behind his terminology. Now, that's what Paul is talking about with their fair speeches. That's why words are important. That's why definitions are important. That's why you must know what someone means by the words that he uses. So one of the ways, then, that you can resist the truth is by imitation. And you find all of these cults and isms, they're resisting the truth. How? They have their own imitation. That's why they need books over and above and beyond the Word of God. That's why they have to write their own version of the Bible. That's why they have to explain their own works and make everybody read those works other than the Word of God.
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Like Jannes and Jambres, the only thing a false teacher can bring forth is death. He cannot produce life. Do you remember what our Lord said in Proverbs 8 and verse 36? "But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death." So one way to resist the messengers of God is by imitation. Another way to resist the messengers of God is by insinuation.
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Now there are other words that could be used for insinuation. I could have used the word defamation or vilification. You see, when one does not like the message, then the normal thing that you think of doing is to discredit the messenger and you discredit him by vilifying and defaming him, and one of the easiest ways to do that is by insinuation. I want you to understand, when you insinuate something, you do not necessarily have to openly attack someone.
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Let me ask you a question. Do you happen to know how old Moses and Aaron were when they confronted Pharaoh? I want you to stop and think. If you don't know, I'll tell you. You'll find it in Exodus 7 and verse 7, but Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old. You know, that's kind of like someone threatening to whip me and they send a 90 year old man to do it.
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What am I going to do? I'm going to laugh. I'm going to say, "You think that 90-year-old man's going to whip me? You're mistaken." Well, can you not imagine what Pharaoh and his court did when they saw these two old men? Can you not hear them mocking these two old men? "Surely, if your God is going to send somebody, surely He would have sent a younger, stronger man, someone who could have faced us and dealt with us. Surely. You're too old to be used of God. You can't do anything."
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What do you hope to accomplish while you can? Can you imagine the ridicule? I want you to understand something. I'm going to explain this because this is vitally important. Insinuation has been used throughout history to attack and destroy the character of godly men. Let me say that again. Insinuation has been used throughout history to attack and destroy the character of godly men. One of my favorite stories, and you've heard it, about the fellow who worked very hard.
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He did carpentry work, etc. And so he went downtown to do some work and he parked his truck in front of the liquor store. And the church gossip saw it there. And she started spreading the word that he was hitting the bottle and evidently was a drunkard because his truck was parked in front of the liquor store. And when he heard it, he just took his truck that night and parked in front of her house and left.
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You see what I'm saying? That's insinuation. Did you know our Lord himself was the recipient of vile insinuations? Let me show you two of them. Look in your Bibles to Matthew 11. Matthew 11. You remember John the Baptist, of course, was different from our Lord. John did not drink wine and John, you know, ate locusts and honey. That was it. Well, look what our Lord said in Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11 and notice if you would please verse—let's begin there with verse 18. He says, "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil."
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"Something's wrong with that man. He doesn't eat or drink. All he does is drink some wine and eats nothing but honey and locusts." Then in verse 19, "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber." So what did they accuse Christ of? Of being a glutton, being a winebibber. Well, that's not all. In fact, that's pretty nice compared to John 8. If you'll turn to John 8 and notice, if you would please there, verse 41. Our Lord is in a confrontation with these Pharisees in John 8 in verse 41.
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And of course, he is besting them naturally. And notice what they say in John 8:41. Our Lord tells them, he says, "Ye do the deeds of your father." In other words, you're of the devil and you're doing the deeds of your father. Watch it in verse 41. "Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God." What were they insinuating? They were insinuating that the virgin born sinless Son of God was a bastard.
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That's what they were saying. Can you imagine the blasphemy? "We be not born of fornication. We know who our parents are." Insinuation. Do you realize the Apostle Paul himself had to face that? Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. And notice if you would, what he says there in verse 10. 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 10. In fact, this whole passage deals with Paul basically defending himself because of the insinuation of the Judaizers. In 2 Corinthians 10 and verse 10, look what they said concerning the Apostle Paul.
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"For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible." "Who does he think he is? He writes strong, but look at him. That sickly, emaciated little punk. Who does he think he is?" That's what they're doing. In fact, if you look at 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 3, they so tried to discredit the Apostle Paul by insinuation that they even cast doubts into the minds of these believers that Christ could even speak through Paul. So in 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 3, he tells them, "Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you." Insinuation. By the way,
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I hope you know that Judaizers are not the only ones who use that tactic. I want you to turn in your Bible, since you're close there, to Ephesians chapter 4 and look at verse 31. I'm going to explain this and then I'm going to show you something. Ephesians 4 verse 31. God tells us there are certain things that have been put away, put off. It's not to be in our lives. Verse 31 he says, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." Now I want you to notice "evil speaking." You know what I could do? I could say, "Boy, that Ed Wolfe, let me tell you some things about that rascal" and I could just lower the boom on him. That's evil speaking. I mean, let me tell you something folks. Whether or not some things are true is immaterial. Even some things that are true do not need to be repeated. Do you understand that? Just because something really truly happened does not mean that you have to go up and down as a tattletale, or as scripture says, as a tailbearer among your people.
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But now let me show you something. I don't have to sit here and say, "Well, let me tell you something about Ed Wolfe" and just lower the boom. I don't have to do that. Doc could come up to me and say, "You know, I really like Ed Wolfe." And I could look at Doc and say, "You wouldn't say that if you knew what I knew."
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Now, have I said anything bad about him? Have I repeated anything? No. But what have I done? I've insinuated. I've insinuated that I know something that he doesn't know, and if he knew what I knew, he really wouldn't like him, and he really wouldn't be friends with him, and he really wouldn't have anything to do with him. When God says put away all evil speaking, it includes insinuation. How do you resist the messengers of God? Now listen. Imitation. Insinuation and one more. Intimidation. Intimidation.
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Look in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 10. Exodus chapter 10. You remember how Moses and Aaron have not only bested the sorcerers and the magicians of Egypt. They've also bested Pharaoh. In Exodus chapter 10 and verse 28, Pharaoh is fed up with it. And look what he says. Exodus 10 verse 28, "And Pharaoh said unto him"—that is to Moses and Aaron—"Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die." And Moses said, "Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more." Now, what was Moses doing? Moses was saying, "Pharaoh, you think you have threatened me. You think you have intimidated me. But you've spoken your own death sentence."
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Now, please listen to this, folks. When Pharaoh told Moses, "Get thee hence, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt surely die." Can a threat get any plainer? I mean, think about it. Pharaoh was an absolute ruler. Pharaoh believed that he held life and death in his hand, and he said to Moses, "When you come back to see me, I'll have you executed. That's it." Intimidation.
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You know, it's amazing as you read through scripture how intimidation is used. Do you remember when Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal? You remember that on Mount Carmel? But when you get to 1 Kings 19 and verse 2, Queen Jezebel said this. She sent a messenger to Elijah and said, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time." But she said, "Elijah, I'm going to cut your head off just the way you cut off the heads of my prophets. So let the gods do to me, and more also, if by this time tomorrow you are not dead just like them." I'm going to tell you now, you've got to remember Ahab and Jezebel were wicked, cruel tyrants. That's when Elijah said, "I think it's time for me to leave town." That's when he went to the mountain. That's when God met him. You know, Amos was threatened the same way. In Amos 7 and verse 12 and 13, let me tell you, Amos went to the palace to preach against Jeroboam II.
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Now, Jeroboam II had a statist priest, Amaziah, and here's what Amaziah said to Amos. I like this. He said, "Amos, O thou seer"—that is, O thou prophet—"go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court."
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Now, listen to what he said. "O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah." In other words, you live in Judah. You don't live in northern Israel. You're part of the southern kingdom. You're not part of the northern kingdom. You go back home and there you eat bread. That is if you want to eat bread. Because if you stay up here, we're going to kill you.
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Because this is the king's chapel. This is the king's court. Intimidation? Oh yeah.
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Now, you say, "But Brother Weaver, God's preachers today—most of them are threatened with the loss of their life." Oh, I know that. Some are. I've got friends who have been threatened. I've been threatened. But let me tell you something. You can intimidate a man in more ways than one. You know what happens to the average pastor? The average pastor is so intimidated by the Board of Deacons or by the rich man or the rich woman in church that he's afraid to preach the whole counsel of God. "Preacher, if you preach something we don't like, we'll get mad. We'll just leave." You know, that's intimidation. That's manipulation. That's when you try to control an individual. What are you doing? Now listen to me. When you intimidate or try to intimidate in any way whatsoever the messenger of the truth, you are resisting, you are withstanding the truth. You're saying in essence, "I don't want to hear it."
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"I'll have nothing to do with it." Look in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 36. Let me just show you this. 2 Chronicles 36 and look at verse 15. 2 Chronicles 36 verse 15. Look what the Bible says: "And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them"—that is, sent to his people. "The Lord God of their fathers sent to them"—to the people—"by his messengers"—that is, His prophets, His preachers. He sent to them by His messengers, "rising up betimes, and sending." Why did God send the preachers? Here's why: "because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place." Well, what did the people do to the preachers? Watch. "But they mocked the messengers of God."
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That is, they intimidated them. They made fun of them. They belittled them. "And despised his"—that is God's—"words, and misused his"—that is God's—"prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." What is God saying? God is saying you cannot have one attitude toward me and another one toward my messengers. If you resist the messenger of truth, you are at the same time resisting the one who sent the messenger of truth. You know what our Lord said in Matthew 10 in verse 40?
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He told his disciples, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." So when we receive Christ, we receive the Father who sent Christ. When we receive Christ's servants, we receive Christ. But the opposite is also true. When we resist and stand against the servants of Christ, we're resisting and standing against and failing to receive Christ himself. And when we resist and stand against Christ, we're resisting and standing against the Father who sent Christ.
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There are a multitude of reasons today of why God's preachers are so despised, hated and rejected. But I'm going to tell you, one of the main reasons is because people hate truth. And one of the ways to fight against the truth is to fight against the man who brings the truth. And when you do so, you're doing exactly what Jannes and Jambres did to Moses and Aaron. You're doing exactly what the false teachers did in the days of Paul and Timothy. Exactly what the false teachers are doing today. You're doing exactly what all wicked men do. You're fighting and resisting the truth.
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I sure don't want to be aligned with Jannes and Jambres. I don't want to be grouped with the false teachers. I want to be one who receives the messengers of God so I can make sure that I receive the message of God. Let's pray. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us today. Lord, help us see how important it is to resist the truth, not to fight against the Word of God, but to bow to it.
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We may not always understand it, but we must believe it. We may not always grasp it, but we must bow to it. We may not, Lord, be the greatest intellects in the world, but the truth of the matter is, Lord, it is Your Word, and You alone can open our understanding and enable us to grasp and understand Thy truth. May we always be willing to bow and to worship and to receive whatever Thou hast for us.
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In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.
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Resisting the Truth - Part 1

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver examines 2 Timothy 3:1-9, focusing on how people resist the truth, using Jannes and Jambres as examples. He explains that false teachers in every age share common characteristics: they are idolatrous, idiocrats, immoral, and intellectual. The primary way people resist the truth is by resisting the messengers of truth through imitation, insinuation, and intimidation. Weaver emphasizes that rejecting God's messengers is equivalent to rejecting God Himself.

Introduction to 2 Timothy 3:1-9

Weaver introduces the passage and notes the sermon will be in two parts, focusing on resisting the truth.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 3:1-9

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come."

The Nature of Resisting Truth

People often resist truth due to cognitive dissonance, denying what contradicts their lifelong beliefs.

Characteristics of False Teachers

False teachers are idolatrous, idiocrats, immoral, and intellectual, as described in 2 Timothy 3:2-7.

Here are some descriptions that fit these folks very properly. Jude 1 verse 12, look what our Lord says about these false teachers here and false believers. He says,

Scripture Reading — Jude 1:12-13

"These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."

Now, folks, let me ask you, how much more descriptive can you be? What about a wave of the sea? What's it do?

The Last Days Context

Paul indicates that the last days began with Christ's first coming, and false teachers are a sign of these times.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-2

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 1:1-2

"hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son."

Resisting the Messengers of Truth

The first way to resist truth is by resisting its messengers, as Pharaoh did with Moses and Aaron.

Method 1: Imitation

False teachers imitate true messengers, producing counterfeits that only bring death, not life.

Like Jannes and Jambres, the only thing a false teacher can bring forth is death. He cannot produce life. Do you remember what our Lord said in Proverbs 8 and verse 36?

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 8:36

"But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death."

So one way to resist the messengers of God is by imitation. Another way to resist the messengers of God is by insinuation.

Method 2: Insinuation

Insinuation attacks the character of messengers through subtle defamation, as seen with Moses, Jesus, and Paul.

And of course, he is besting them naturally. And notice what they say in John 8:41. Our Lord tells them, he says,

Scripture Reading — John 8:41

"Ye do the deeds of your father."

In other words, you're of the devil and you're doing the deeds of your father. Watch it in verse 41.

Scripture Reading — John 8:41

"Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."

What were they insinuating? They were insinuating that the virgin born sinless Son of God was a bastard. That's what they were saying. Can you imagine the blasphemy?

Scripture Reading — John 8:41

"We be not born of fornication. We know who our parents are."

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 10:10

"For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible."

Method 3: Intimidation

Intimidation uses threats to silence messengers, from Pharaoh to modern pressures on pastors.

Because this is the king's chapel. This is the king's court. Intimidation? Oh yeah.

Consequences of Resisting Messengers

Resisting God's messengers is resisting God Himself, leading to judgment as in 2 Chronicles 36.

Application and Prayer

Weaver urges listeners to receive God's messengers and truth, not align with false teachers, and closes in prayer.

In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray. Amen.

Resisting the Truth - Part 1

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	21106172219
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Exodus: Bondage, Deliverance, and Passover: The Superiority of Christ
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-01-01
Dictation Name
Book	Book 037: Resisting the Truth — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	82

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction to 2 Timothy 3:1-9: Weaver introduces the passage and notes the sermon will be in two parts, focusing on resisting the truth.
The Nature of Resisting Truth: People often resist truth due to cognitive dissonance, denying what contradicts their lifelong beliefs.
Characteristics of False Teachers: False teachers are idolatrous, idiocrats, immoral, and intellectual, as described in 2 Timothy 3:2-7.
The Last Days Context: Paul indicates that the last days began with Christ's first coming, and false teachers are a sign of these times.
Resisting the Messengers of Truth: The first way to resist truth is by resisting its messengers, as Pharaoh did with Moses and Aaron.
Method 1: Imitation: False teachers imitate true messengers, producing counterfeits that only bring death, not life.
Method 2: Insinuation: Insinuation attacks the character of messengers through subtle defamation, as seen with Moses, Jesus, and Paul.
Method 3: Intimidation: Intimidation uses threats to silence messengers, from Pharaoh to modern pressures on pastors.
Consequences of Resisting Messengers: Resisting God's messengers is resisting God Himself, leading to judgment as in 2 Chronicles 36.
Application and Prayer: Weaver urges listeners to receive God's messengers and truth, not align with false teachers, and closes in prayer.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

False teachers are consistent across ages

Paul compares Jannes and Jambres to contemporary false teachers, showing they share idolatrous, idiocratic, immoral, and intellectual traits.

Weaver explains that Paul's use of 'so do these also' links ancient and modern false teachers.

Imitation is a primary tactic of false teachers

False teachers imitate true miracles and teachings, but their counterfeits only produce death, not life.

Weaver notes the magicians could only imitate three miracles and could not create life, paralleling false gospels today.

Insinuation destroys character without direct accusation

Insinuation subtly undermines messengers by implying hidden faults, as seen in biblical and modern examples.

Weaver illustrates with the gossip's truck story and biblical insinuations against Jesus and Paul.

Intimidation silences truth through fear

Threats of harm or loss are used to stop messengers, from Pharaoh to modern church pressures.

Weaver cites Pharaoh's death threat, Jezebel's threat, and how pastors are intimidated by influential members.

Resisting messengers is resisting God

The Bible teaches that how one treats God's messengers reflects their treatment of God Himself.

Weaver references 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 and Matthew 10:40 to establish this principle.

Scripture References

2 Timothy 3:1-9: Primary text describing perilous times and false teachers, including Jannes and Jambres.
2 Thessalonians 2: Mentioned as teaching that some hate truth because they love unrighteousness.
Philippians 3:19: Describes false teachers whose god is their belly, illustrating idolatry.
Jude 1:12-13: Describes false teachers as clouds without water, trees without fruit, etc.
James 3:15: Describes earthly, sensual, devilish wisdom.
1 Corinthians 8: Knowledge puffs up, contrasting with true knowledge of Christ.
Hebrews 1:1-2: Shows the last days began with Christ's first coming.
Exodus 5:2: Pharaoh denies knowing the Lord, resisting Moses' divine mission.
Exodus 7:11: Magicians imitate turning rods into serpents.
Exodus 7:22: Magicians imitate turning water to blood.
Exodus 8:7: Magicians imitate bringing frogs.
2 Corinthians 11:1-4, 13-15: Warns of another Jesus, spirit, gospel; Satan transforms into angel of light.
Romans 16:17-18: False teachers deceive by fair speeches, serving their own belly.
Proverbs 8:36: Those who hate wisdom love death.
Exodus 7:7: Moses was 80 and Aaron 83 when they confronted Pharaoh.
Matthew 11:18-19: Jesus was accused of being a glutton and winebibber.
John 8:41: Pharisees insinuate Jesus was born of fornication.
2 Corinthians 10:10: Paul's bodily presence was weak and speech contemptible.
2 Corinthians 13:3: They sought proof of Christ speaking in Paul.
Ephesians 4:31: Put away evil speaking, which includes insinuation.

Historical References

Jannes and Jambres: Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron, named in 2 Timothy 3:8.
Pharaoh and the Exodus: Pharaoh resisted Moses' message, and his magicians imitated some miracles.
Elijah and Jezebel: Jezebel threatened Elijah after he killed the prophets of Baal.
Amos and Amaziah: Amaziah, priest of Jeroboam II, told Amos to flee and prophesy in Judah.

Important Quotes

Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

Key verse linking ancient and modern false teachers in resisting truth.

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Describes false teachers as idiocrats with outward religion but no true power.

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Highlights the intellectual but spiritually ignorant nature of false teachers.

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Shows that imitation and deception are Satanic tactics.

He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

Establishes the direct link between receiving messengers and receiving God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why do people naturally resist truth that contradicts their long-held beliefs?

[Context]

Weaver discusses cognitive dissonance and the tendency to deny new truth.

[Question]

How can we discern between true and false teachers today?

[Context]

Weaver outlines characteristics of false teachers: idolatrous, idiocrats, immoral, intellectual.

[Question]

In what ways might we be guilty of insinuation against God's messengers?

[Context]

Weaver explains insinuation as subtle character attacks, even among believers.

[Question]

How does intimidation manifest in the church today, and how should we respond?

[Context]

Weaver gives examples of pastors being pressured by influential members.

[Question]

What does it mean to receive a messenger of God, and why is it equivalent to receiving Christ?

[Context]

Weaver cites Matthew 10:40 to show the unity between God and His messengers.

Applications

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