6 They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses,[A] so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith. 9 But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Paul Bogg

According to Jewish tradition, Jannes and Jambres are the names given to the Egyptian magicians who opposed Moses and Aaron when they came before Pharoah – you can read about them in Exodus chapters 7 to 9.  What’s interesting about them is that they really stood in opposition to God. They attempted to discredit Moses and Aaron by performing god-like acts to show that the God of Moses had no real power.  After initially seeming to perform well, they are soon found out. God shows that there is no comparison – he is the Lord, and they are fakes.

In today’s passage, Paul warns us that we need to watch out, because the same kind of person might come amongst us today – not a magician, but someone with a form of godliness but denying its power, opposed to the truth, depraved in mind and disqualified from faith. They are the type to take advantage of vulnerable people, and seek to undermine the ministry of the gospel. They lead both men and women astray from the truth. Paul’s message to Timothy is one for us too: turn away from such as these.

I knew one such guy at my workplace. When I first met him a few years ago, he had started dating a Christian girl (not from work). He seemed interested in talking about the Bible and learning more about Jesus. He had informally been meeting up with people at work and at the same church of the girl he was dating.  Not too long after, Covid hit, and I lost touch with him. Two years later, I bumped into him and asked him how life was. He was now living together with the same girlfriend, and no longer interested in talking about Jesus. He probably never was really interested in making Jesus his Lord.

As a father of three girls, and as a brother to many other brothers and sisters in Christ, one of my biggest fears is watching someone like this drag the hearts of believers away from Christ.  As I think about how to help my brothers and sisters stand firm in gospel truth, this passage tells me that I need to be like the apostle Paul – staying close to them, encouraging and reminding them of the gospel, helping them through prayer and speaking words of truth, to help them discern for themselves who to stay near to and who to turn away from.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paul is a member of our Bossley Park morning congregation.