2 Timothy 3:5-7 - Having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power

3:5

“Having a form of godliness but denying its power”. This applies very well to those who claim to be Christians but are affirming of LGBTQ lifestyles. They claim to be acting out of love, even acting in a Christlike manner, but denying the power of the gospel, the power of Jesus to change a man or woman. They deny the power of God to save a man or woman from sin. They claim to be affirming people, but in reality they are affirming sin. This is not a wise thing to do, and we should follow Paul’s words and “have nothing to do with such people”.

3:6,7

False teachers will take particular advantage of women. They worm their way into the homes of gullible women and gain control over them. Now this is not Paul saying all women are like this, nor is he saying women are worse than men. Here it is the men who are the prime culprits, and elsewhere, including in this letter, he says many positive things about women. But there are some women who are like the ones he talks about here. We probably all know women who have been taken advantage of by evil men. These women were “always learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth”. You can know a lot without knowing the truth. God’s truth leads to repentance. So what are we to do? I guess we all know people, men and women, who are “weighed down with sins”. Left alone such people are particularly vulnerable. So it is all the more important that we preach the truth and seek to reach the lost.