People Who Falter

Photo by Ceria Justianto

Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:15

You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

Insights: This week we are going to look at the tale of two people. The first person we are going to look at is the one who falters in their faith. In today's verse we meet two individuals, Phygelus and Hermogenes.  These two individuals were ashamed of Paul because he had been arrested. Never mind the reason for the arrest was the proclamation of the gospel. We know they were ashamed of the Paul because back in verse eight and twelve Paul writes about this issue of one being ashamed. It is rightly deduced that Paul has this issue on his mind when he is writing to Timothy about these two men. They were ashamed that their preacher had been arrested. What these men did not realize was that being ashamed of Paul for spreading the gospel was the same as being ashamed of Jesus. The second issue we know about these men who faltered in their faith was that they had become doctrinally erroneous. The actual Greek word that is translated in the above verse as “turned away” is the very word from which we get the word apostasy.  Every time this word is used in the New Testament it is in reference to false doctrines. So to say that these men had turned away was not just a relational statement but a doctrinal statement. Understanding these two aspects of these men we can easily make a third assumption, and that is, these men were truly lost. They were ashamed of Paul, they started to believe false doctrines, and when you put these two together it is highly likely that they never truly had a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved, let us be on guard with our own heart. Let us daily study the Scriptures in order to know true doctrine. And above all, let us not be ashamed of Christ Jesus in the proclamation of His gospel.

Questions:

 1. Have you ever been ashamed of someone for being totally devoted to Jesus?

 2. Do you know of anyone who has been led to believe erroneous doctrines?

Prayer: Father, forgive me for the times in which I have been ashamed of my fellow Christ-followers for their zeal for You.  My shame says more about my lack of faith than it does theirs.  Help me to rejoice in true obedience of those around me and to give it back to You for praise.  Amen.

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