2 Timothy 2:16-18 - Homilies By T. Croskery

A warning against vain babblings,with there tendency to heresy and impiety.

"But shun profane babblings."

I. THE DUTY OF THE MINISTER TOWARD SUCH BABBLINGS . He is to shun them, because they are profitless—a mere sound of words, without solid meaning; great swelling words of vanity, not only unprofitable, but contrary to the doctrine that is according to godliness. The minister must shun, discourage, and repudiate them in the interests of truth and piety.

II. THE TENDENCY OF SUCH BABBLINGS . "They will proceed further in ungodliness." The allusion is not to the babblings, but to the false teachers.

1 . There is a close connection between lax doctrine and a loose life. The error of the false teachers had not yet appeared in its fully developed form, but its true moral tendency was clearly foreseen from the first.

2 . There is a tendency in false teachers to carry their principles to their last logical results. They have thrown off the checks of authority and conscience; they have been emboldened, perhaps, by a temporary success; and so they insist on wresting the whole Scripture to their own destruction as well as that of others.

III. THE EFFECTS OF SUCH FALSE TEACHING . "And their word will eat as doth a gangrene."

1 . It will spread further and further.

2 . It will have corrupting and destroying effects. The strong figure of the apostle sets the matter in an impressive light.

IV. THE RING LEADERS OF HERESY . "Of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; men who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some."

1 . The leading apostles of error.

2 . The nature of their error. Their principal error, which is mentioned, was a denial of the resurrection in its true sense.

3 . The injurious effects of their error. "And overthrow the faith of some."