Friday May 12th, 2023
Meditate on: 2 Timothy 3:5 CP
« They will profess to be spiritual, but rejecting the One who is able to save them. Just stay away from such people. »
Read: 2 Timothy 3:1-9 NLT
1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.
2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.
3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good.
4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.
5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!
6 They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.
7 (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.)
8 These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.
9 But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.
Atheism is simply the absolute denial of God’s existence.
Who then is a practical atheist? It is he or her who theoretically believes in God but in practice, but leads a life that denies His existence.
These are the type of people described in today’s memory verse. How do we know practical atheists in our midst today? Jesus said we should know them by their fruits (Matthew7:20).
Apostle Paul in today’s Bible reading list some of the characteristic traits of practical atheists, summed up in their denial of the power to live a godly life in this world.
Practical atheists believe that holiness is an illusion and teach others to believe so too, thereby causing people to live a lifestyle of sin.
Unfortunately, they have crept into the church and have succeeded in leading people astray.
They are deadly in the sense that they appear to be religious and well-informed, but their conduct contradicts their claim of faith.
In 2 Timothy 3:7-8 CEV the Bible describes them in the following terms:
« 7 These women always want to learn something new, but they never can discover the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, these people are enemies of the truth. Their minds are sick, and their faith isn’t real. »
Practical atheists are found among great Church men and women who use the cover of their successes in ministry to peddle heresies as sound superior teachings.
As stated in 2 Timothy 3:8, they are like Jannes and Jambres, who withstood Moses by displaying magical powers to counter the miracles Moses performed in a bid to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelite go (Exodus 7:11-12, Exodus 7:22).
Although practical atheists tend to have knowledge through extensive learning, they never come to the knowledge of the truth which sets free from living a life of sin.
John 8:32
Some of them are like the Pharisees and Scribes of old.
Just as Jesus questioned Nicodemus, a professor of the law, He is asking such people today, “Didn’t you claim you have a Master’s degree or PhD in theology, and yet you don’t know that without holiness no man shall see the Lord?
You say you’re a professor of religious history, and yet you don’t know that I Am the same yesterday, today and forever? Don’t you know that My standards cannot be changed by modern society?”
Mere believe in God is not enough; we must live according to His standards.
Even demons believe in the existence of the one true God but that hasn’t changed who they really are (James 2:19).
From now on, let your life always conform to your beliefs.
Application: Examine yourself to see whether any aspect of your life nullifies your claim of faith in Jesus Christ and His word.
Author: Bishop Enoch. A. Adeboye.
Edited by Naomie
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