Godlessness

For a number of years it was our family tradition in the Fall to drive to a friend’s farm and pick out pumpkins for decoration and carving.  There were generally three types of pumpkins: those which were already rotten and decaying, those which were healthy and ready to be picked, and those which appeared healthy but were rotten on the inside.  It was wise to avoid these later pumpkins because your hands could easily break through skin and cause them to fall apart.  The struggle was determining which pumpkins were playing the part of health and which were actually healthy.

As the pastor/elder of the church in Ephesus, Timothy encountered teachers who on the outside had the appearance of health and Godly truth, but on the inside were rotten to the core.  Paul warns Timothy to keep an eye out for such deceivers.  In 2 Timothy 3:1-9 he provides a list of “fruit” which can be used to identify those counterfeit Christian teachers in Timothy’s midst.  But Paul also provides an encouragement for Timothy.

Join us this week at ElmCreek Community as God’s Word teaches us how to recognize those who have a healthy façade but are rotten in the heart, those who seem to be teaching right doctrine, but teach falsehoods meant to deceive and lead people astray from the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

May we be prayerfully prepared to hear God’s Word, worship Him together as His people, and encounter the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and hearts.

Striving to know Christ and make him known.