2 Timothy 2:8-26 - Series on the Epistles of Paul (125)

Well, good evening, brethren. Pauline was now in prison for the second time, and he knew that his time was short and that he would soon be executed. And so the intent of this second letter to Timothy was to make provision and to encourage Timothy to continue proclaiming the faith once delivered to the saints and contaminated to future generations.

And so Paul tells Timothy, and by extension us, in first place not to be ashamed of God's word. He says in verse 8, 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 8, he says, Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner. But, and so he is encouraging Timothy not to be ashamed of the gospel, and then he further says that he's committed his life to Christ.

We see that in verse 12, and then he adds that God's plan will be carried out. God will do what he says that he will do, he will do. And so in verse 13, Paul therefore encourages Timothy not to deviate from this pattern of sound words. In other words, he encourages Timothy to stay on the straight and narrow, and obviously with the help of God's Holy Spirit.

In the second chapter, then Paul in this epistle to Timothy, he encourages Timothy or put it another way, he summons as some say, therefore he gives the instruction to Timothy to pass on this instruction or this teaching to faithful man who will be able to teach others. And so at the beginning, yeah, in verse 7, he uses three analogies. He uses the analogy of a soldier that trains, then he uses an athlete, and then he uses the analogy of a farmer.

And he says, consider these examples. The soldier is one that trains and prepares, and then he's given his duties and responsibilities. An athlete likewise trains, and then he competes. And a farmer, he says, is the one that works, and then he gets the benefit of that work by having the crops. In all these three analogies, all must be dedicated to their goal, to their job, to their mission, to what they're striving for. And the other lesson, that's why he says, consider what I say in verse 7.

All of them have a large investment of time upfront in order to achieve the expected results in the future. And so, likewise, as in our Christian life, we have to invest time. We've got to do our Bible study, we've got to do our meditation, we've got to apply our minds to the understanding that comes from God, and we've got to practice it and live it. And so then, we continue today from verse 8, and he says, remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.

So the Greek tense is about be continually remembering Jesus Christ. It's very similar to, in a way, what we read in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 23 and 24, that we are at the Passover. Christ says, do this in remembrance of me. And then he says also, yeah, in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 8, remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David. We know that the Messiah had to be born of the seed of David. We have a very encouraging prophecy about that.

Let me turn to Isaiah chapter 9. It's a beautiful scripture. And in verse 6 and 7, it says, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder.

You know, brethren, the way we live today and what's happening around in the world today, are we not grateful that the government of this world will be upon his shoulder? Well, we need that so badly. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of increase of his government and peace, there'll be no end upon the throne of David.

So the Messiah had to come from David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. And the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. And so Christ had to come, the Messiah had to be born of the seed of David. We also read in Luke at the beginning in chapter one.

Luke in verse 31 through 33. Luke verse 1 verse 31 through 33. And it says, and beyond you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. And he'll be great and will be called the son of the highest.

And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he'll reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom. There'll be no end. So the Messiah again would be from the house of David. In Acts chapter 2 verse 29 through 32. Acts chapter 2 verse 29 32.

It says, men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David that is both dead and buried. And his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with enough to him that of the fruit of his body according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. So Christ would come out of the seed of David. And so we can see that in verse 8 of 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 8. Remember that Jesus of the seed of David was raised from the dead. I beg your pardon. Two points here of interest. The Greek construction here of this was raised would be better translated as having been raised.

Now what is the implication of that? In other words, it's not just remembering that Christ resurrected, but that Christ is alive. He's raised and he's alive and is there to help us.

For instance, in John 14 verse 6, he says, I'm the way and the truth and the life is alive. So he has been raised, having been raised, not just remembering that he was raised, but he is raised, having been raised. And also the commentary Wycliffe states about when it says he is from the dead, that comment says that should be translated out from among those who are dead. In other words, the Greek has that implication. And so he is raised, he's alive, and he's the only one from among the dead who has raised at this time, of course, to eternal life. And so we can see that it says that we have to live a seamless life, in other words, in the spiritual body of Christ, because Christ is alive. We, as we are baptized, we are in his body, in the spiritual body of Christ, and he's alive. He is the way, he is the life, he is the truth, and so we have to live in his body, the church, but he is also living in us. And so he is the one that is raised to eternal life, and we, by being in his body, spiritual body, we then have the promise of that eternal life as well. And then he says, according to my gospel. Now, why does he say my gospel? Because obviously, it's God's gospel, but it's the gospel that he preached, compared to the one that was preached by others, like in verse 17, talks about two individuals, Heim and Nels and Philateus, that were preaching a different gospel, as we can read in verse 18, which was saying that the resurrection is already passed. So the gospel that he was preaching is compared to the other, so obviously, it's the gospel of God. So it wasn't his gospel, but it was the one that he was preaching, which is God's gospel. Continue now in verse 9, for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains, but the Word of God is not chained. So sometimes Christians are looked as evildoers. Now, in this situation, at this time, in that circumstance in Rome, as we mentioned before, there was a fire in AD 64, which lasted nearly for a week. Some commentaries say that was for six days and six nights, and devastated the great portions of Rome, and the the Christians were falsely accused as the ones that caused the fire. And so there was an imperial persecution against Christians, obviously falsely accused, as I mentioned, and therefore Christians were called evildoers. And so that's why it says, it says, for I suffer trouble as an evildoer. Yeah, in verse 9. And then it says, even to the point of chains. So he was in chains, in jail, but he says, but the Word of God is not chained. In other words, the truth is not chained. In fact, he's saying that his imprisonment actually furthered the preaching of the Gospel and the knowledge of salvation, because people would say, well, have you heard this, this, this, this? So that had increased. An example of that is in Philippians chapter 1 verse 12 through 18. Philippians chapter 1 verse 12 through 18. And he says, but I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel.

So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard and to all the rest that my chains are in Christ. And most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bald to speak the word without fear. And so, obviously, Philippians was during his first imprisonment, but the principle is the same that him being in prison actually, as it says here, increased the furtherance of the Gospel. It exactly increased the awareness of Jesus Christ. So let's continue now in verse 10. That's 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 10. And it says, therefore, I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they all may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. And so he's saying, I endure all things. Paul, in a sense, was doing this sacrifice, this, let's call it service, for the elect so that they would be encouraged as an example of what Paul was doing towards salvation. Imagine if Paul would fail and says, okay, I give up and whatever, others would be discouraged. And so he stuck to it, obviously, first and foremost, putting God first, but also there was an additional benefit for the sake of the elect.

And so he made that emphasis here, that they may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. And salvation comes through the resurrection. And so now he moves on to verse 11. This is a faithful saying. In this time, the word of faithful saying is the lost time is using it. I'm talking about chronologically, because it's used in first Timothy, and then chronologically, Titus was written, and then second Timothy. So this is the lost time chronologically that the word or this phrase, a faithful saying, is made mentioned, which in a sense is like practical nutshells of the teaching of Jesus Christ. And so he says, for if we died with him, we shall also live with him. And we died with Christ when? At baptism, we die in that watery grave, and we come out of that watery grave towards a new life. And so today we live a new life, and we will live a new life, of course, as spiritually speaking, as a spirit beings in God's kingdom forever. But we got to be living today in newness of life, a new way. And so the point here to remember is that this physical human life is not a goal.

This physical human life is not a goal, and quite often we forget that. Our goal is the kingdom of God, and we're going to keep that in mind. Verse 12, if we endure, we shall also reign with him.

In Matthew 24, verse 12 and 13, when it's talking about the time of the end, and it says, he that will endure to the end. Let's just turn it there so I can quote it properly. Matthew 24, verse 12 and 13, it says, and because lawlessness will abound, the love of man will grow cold. And we see a lot of lawlessness today, and we see the love of man growing. And then it says, but he who endures to the end shall be saved. We have to endure to the end. There's going to be a lot of attacks, a lot of accusations we can read, even the earlier verses. It says, many will be offended and will betray one another. Brethren, the way I look at the situation today, and I look at the world today, and I see so many people ill and suffering and things happening in the world. I am, let's call it suspicious, there is going to be a lot of attacks in the church, and there'll be a lot of people betraying one another, and we have to hold on. We have to hold on to the truth. We've got to be careful because it says lawlessness will abound, and so we really have to hold on to the foundation which is Christ. And so, he who endures to the end will be saved. We have to endure to the end, brethren. We have to endure to the end. Continue now in verse 12 of 2 Timothy 2, and he says if we deny him, he will also deny us. Well, in first place, what we've got to do is we've got to deny ourselves. We've got to deny our, you know, the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the world and the pride of life as we read in 1 John 2 16 and 17. Also in Luke chapter 9, Luke chapter 9 verse 23 through 25, it says, then he said to them, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life on my sake will save it. And so we've got to deny ourselves in first and foremost. But going back to the point here, it says if we deny Christ, how can we deny Christ? Well, there are a lot of people that says I believe in Christ, but they deny Christ in works. Look at Titus chapter 1 verse 16. Titus chapter 1 verse 16. They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. That's what we see today in society. People are, they're thinking and some of the ideas of the world are very abominable, very wrong in God's eyes and it's based on disobedience to God's principle and God's ways. So you can confess with words to know God, but you can deny God in actions, in works. And so we've got to be careful we don't do that. And in Matthew chapter 10, Matthew chapter 10 verse 32 and 33. Matthew 10 verse 32 and 33.

Matthew 10 verse 32 and 33. Therefore, whoever confesses me before man, him I will also confess before my father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before man, him I will also deny before my father who is in heaven. And then in Luke 9, which we were reading a short while ago, Luke 9, we were reading verse 23 and 24. But let's just look at Luke 9 verse 26. Luke 9 verse 26. And there we read, But whoever is ashamed of me and my words of him, the Son or man will be ashamed when he comes in his own glory and in his father's end of the angel and of the holy angels. And so if we are ashamed of Christ, he'll be ashamed of us. If we deny him, he'll deny us.

So continue now reading in verse 13 of 2 Timothy chapter 2. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. You know, without faith, it is impossible to please God. We read in Hebrews 11 verse 6, and God is faithful. That's it. Everything that God has promised will take place.

Christ is coming back. The resurrection will occur. The kingdom of God will be established truly on earth. There'll be peace for a thousand years. There will be a second resurrection. There'll be a new heaven and new earth. God is faithful. It will all will take place.

God's faithfulness does not depend on us. That's why it says if we are faithless, God remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. Verse 14, remind them of these sayings, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit to the ruin of the eras. And so Paul is again emphasizing the point here of teaching the truth, being faithful to the truth, and as I mentioned earlier on, he used three analogies of a soldier and used an analogy of a former worker, for example, and they were hard workers. And now he's saying, remind them of these sayings, we gotta hold on. We gotta be faithful because God is faithful. We can't deny him. We gotta hold on to the truth. And then he says in verse 14, and he says, not to strive about words to no profit. In other words, those people that think that Christianity is basically something about words, about intellectualism, or they look at it from an intellectual, argumentative perspective, you know, words don't replace actions.

You know, it doesn't say talking a good fight, but it is living the good fight. We gotta live, we gotta practice. And so, you know, not to strive about words to no profit to the ruin of the Eros. Interesting, the word ruin in Greek is basically a word that we would say it in English catastrophe, to the catastrophe of the Eros. That's actually the Greek word that is used there. And so, as we look at these points, now Paul gives three additional metaphors in his instruction about being faithful and sticking to the truth and not deviating from the truth. He gives three metaphors. One is starting from verse 15 of the approved worker. The second one, starting in verse 20, is of a vessel of honor. And the third is being a servant of the Lord, starting from verse 23. And so, in verse 15, he says, be diligent to present yourself approved to God a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the world of truth. And so, it says we are approved to God. The word approved is the one that that's to the test, that these tests, these difficulties, and and he's approved, he stayed faithful to these teachings. So approved, one that's to the test, then the question is, then why these tests? Why these difficulties? Why these hardships? Well, so we can be tested and approved.

God needs to know, God has to know, that we will remain faithful till the end.

And so, the principle is, yeah, it is easy to obey God when everything is going good. But it is more difficult to obey God in bad times. For instance, I come across when people, particularly in other countries, that struggle with work because of the Sabbath.

And therefore, it's very difficult to keep the Sabbath if you lost a job or are struggling to get a job. And now one man that years after years, he would just keep losing his job because of the Sabbath. So it's very difficult to keep the Sabbath in those circumstances. And so that's why I say we need to be approved. It's also a lot difficult to tithe when you hardly got any money. I know some of the brethren, for instance, in Brazil, they struggle. And even in Angola, they struggle. And it's very difficult for those people to tithe. But God is testing the hearts. God is proving that we will put God first. And so, approved. Now, in our society, maybe we test it in different ways. In our societies, maybe they test it in specific ways. Maybe in our society, we test it or approved in different ways. But God wants to know, he has to know whether we will remain faithful to Him, putting Him first all the time. And then he says, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Rightly dividing implies like cutting straight. You know, a straight cut. Rightly cutting a straight cut. In other words, to hold a straight course. For instance, they correctly interpret God's word in the correct way. In Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6. Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6. Let's just turn there. Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6.

Proverbs 3, verse 5 and 6. We read, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding. In other words, we've got to be approved in remaining faithful, in trusting God, and not coming out with our own reasoning. What I think is this? You know, I've come across, well, these laws don't really apply for us in this country. I've come across that a number of times. And it's people in different countries that have said that to me. So that's why I'm not putting a specific country nigh me there. And then in verse 6, in all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths on that straight and narrow path. You know, that's God's way. But what happens is false teachers pervert the world of truth, the truth of God. That's why it says here, in verse 16, says rightly dividing the world of truth. False teachers pervert the truth of God. Look at Acts 13 verse 9 and 10. Acts 13 verse 9 and 10.

Then Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him, and this is at Elimas, the sorcerer, and said, verse 10, O fool of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? You see, so false teachers pervert the truth of God. Also in 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 verse 17, it says, for we are not, as so many, peddling. In other words, adulterating, forgetting, peddling the word of God, but as of sincerity. But as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. And so we are not peddling, but false teachers pervert the word of truth. They twist it for their own prophet and things like that. So going back here to verse 15 of 2nd Timothy chapter 2, it says, be diligent to present yourself approved to God through the different texts we go through as a worker who does not need to be ashamed because we stick to the truth and we don't deviate from it.

And then in verse 16, but shan, profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. Shan, in other words, go far away from, don't have anything to do.

Idle babblings, that's discussions of vain and useless matters. Things that do not produce good fruit. And then it says, for they will increase to more and more ungodliness.

And so these deviations, these deviations from the truth, these discussions of vain and useless matters, they lead people to more and more ungodliness. Verse 17, and their message will spread like cancer. Hymenias and philettis are of the sort. And so the kind of preaching or the messages or their ideas or the teachings spread like cancer. The actual Greek word is gangrene. It's like blood poisoning. Blood poisoning that like sepsis from a wound that spreads the whole body over the whole body rapidly. And we've got to be careful. As ministers, we have to address that. We have to address that. So verse 18, talking about these two individuals who have strayed concerning the truth. In other words, they they must the mark. Strayed is more of an archery type term, and then they strayed, they must the mark. In other words, instead of following that straight path, as we read rightly dividing the word of truth, rightly cutting straight path, they must the mark. They deviated, saying that the resurrection is already passed. And so they had different false teachings. These false teachings influenced people, and you'll be surprised what people believe. People believe almost anything. Anything. And so as we read in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 12, 1 Corinthians 15 verse 12, it says, now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? How do some say there is no resurrection? And then yeah, we read in this verse, verse 18 of 2 Timothy chapter 2, that these people were saying that the resurrection is already passed, kind of saying, well you missed the boat. There was a resurrection, it's come and gone, and you missed the boat. It's like you missed the train. The train come passed by the station and goodbye. And these ideas, and brethren today, there are so many ideas, so many ideas that people have that overthrow the faith of some. That's why it says in verse 18, and they overthrow the faith of some. They really cause the destruction or the ruin of the eras, as we read at the end of verse 14, to the destruction of those people that hear that. And we know scriptures like in 1 Corinthians 5 or 6. What does it say? A little leaven, leavens the whole lump. By the way, it's not just there that it says that. You can read that in Galatians 5 verse 9. A little leaven, leavens the whole lump. And we read also in Matthew 18, in verse 6, about you causing a little one to stumble. You know, the responsibility of the ministry is to protect the flock. If someone comes in with teaching that is incorrect, that is subtly, ever so subtly, but deviating from the truth, it's like gangrene. It's like cancer. It spreads, and you've got to address it. And you've got to be strong and address it and get rid of it. And it's similar to scriptures like in Matthew 5, 29 and 30. It says, if your eye offends you, black it out. If your hand is offending you, cut it off. What it means is, spiritually speaking, you've got to get rid of that which is divisive. You've got to get rid of those false teachings. Verse 19, nevertheless, notwithstanding the subversion, the distorting of the truth, and trying to impact those people's faith, nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands.

What is the solid foundation of God that remains? The solid foundation is the truth of God remains. And it says, having the seal, having the stamp, like an inscription, like when you do a seal that says it belongs, and of ownership, and this is the end result of the purpose. And so, what is the foundation? What is our foundation? Well, in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20, we read, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. The foundation is the church. He's built on the apostles, the prophets, you know, the teaching, the testimony, which is basically written in God's Word, the Bible, and Christ himself. So, that is solid. The foundation, the truth, what's in the Bible? That solid foundation of God remains. And then he says, yeah, in verse 19, he says, having the seal, and he gives two types of seal, in a sense. One is, the Lord knows those who are here, the first seal, and the second seal, that everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. And so, the first one, only God knows, only God can see the seal. Because God knows who he has called. God knows who he has called. God knows who he has given his spirit to. In other words, he knows who are his begotten children. And only God can see the seal. God knows, that's why it says, the seal that the Lord knows those who are his. And the second one, he says, depart from iniquity, depart from lawlessness. In other words, it's a way of life. Now, this seal, others can see, by the fruits. By the fruits. And so, he asked two seals, one, that people can't see. It's only God. God knows who he has called. And two, the other, it's a seal, it's an identifier, it's a way of life. That is fruits, bearing fruits. Over time, people will see that. And so, this first metaphor, which is talking about a worker that is approved. This worker that is approved, now becomes, kind of leads to the second method for, which starts from verse 20, which is an approved worker that now becomes a vessel of honor. This approved worker becomes somebody that is, carries to God a responsibility, a position of honor. And again, it says, yeah, in verse 20, it says, but in a great house, there was in a mansion, a big house, okay, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor, and some for this honor. So, in a big house, there's various, for instance, plates and cups and glasses, etc., some have higher honor than others. And so, therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, from this honor, all right, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and he's set apart and useful to God, to the master, the master of that house, prepared for every good work. And so, if we as an approved worker, we cleanse ourselves from the things of the world, that person is one that God wants to use. He's the one that is sanctified, cleans himself, how? With the help of God's only Spirit, the sanctification of the Spirit. So, that person is using God's power, God's essence that he gives us upon the laying of hands of the baptism, and therefore, that individual is growing, is preventing himself from being polluted. And therefore, God sees those that are serving the Church, and God sees those that are not serving the Church, that have not cleansed themselves. And in a sense, it's like we read about the parable of the tears and wheat, that God allows. That's in Matthew 13, 24 through 30. God allows the tears in the middle of the wheat. And so, by the time that Paul was writing this, all kinds of false teachers had crept into the Church, and therefore, we had these tears amongst the wheat.

And so, if you and I want to be used by God, we have to cleanse ourselves. And those with wrong ideas need to cleanse themselves so they can be used by God. That is a very serious warning. I'm not by any means judging anybody, but I'm just saying we need to all examine ourselves one way or another. And verse 22 says, flee also youthful lusts. That is part of this cleansing so that you become a vessel for honor. And so, in the case of youthful lusts, it's not just related to sexual, but it could be many other things that quite often youth are not very wise. They do things that are not controlled by wisdom. They may be they're impatient. Maybe they're very proud. Maybe they're very ambitious. Maybe they want power. Maybe they want self-assertion. They like to argue and dispute. And sometimes they fail to appreciate experience. And so, it says run from these dangers of life. It says flee also youthful lusts, but pursue. In other words, seek the right values. And it gives four key attributes of a Christian. Righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

And note the first two, righteousness and faith, are more at the individual level, whilst love and peace are more as far as interrelationships with other people. And so, it says pursue those things with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. So pursue that with fellow brethren. Work on that and be kind to one another. And now he moves on in verse 23 to the third, method four, which is saying, you know, the hard worker, he now is going to be, as he said, a vessel of honor. And now he says that vessel of honor becomes a slave in the household. He's a servant of God, a servant of the Lord. And so he says, verse 23, avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. Avoid. Flee. God's servants will always run into people that are quarrelsome, that are argumentative, but it says avoid that because that generates strife, generates division, fights. And so, in verse 24, and the servant of the Lord must not quarrel. The servant of the Lord must not quarrel, must be gentle. Now we know in Matthew 11 verse 28 and 29, spoke that Christ says, be like me because I'm gentle and have a lowly heart. And so we need to be like Christ, gentle, humble, lowly heart, humble. And he says, able to teach and patient. You know, a gentle answer turns away wrath. Proverbs 15 verse 1. That is one proverb I'll never forget because there was a situation that happened in my life that really brought that proverb to the surface. I said, wow! And it's so true. A gentle, a soft answer turns away wrath. Now continuing in verse 25. In humility, correcting those who are in opposition. In humility, correct those that oppose. They're opposition to what? Opposition to the truth. They are opposition to themselves because they don't even realize that they're fighting against themselves, against the godly way. So they oppose, so correct those, but in humility. So how does a minister correct people? In humility. Sit down and explain gently, patiently why it's wrong, and knowing that it is god that grants repentance.

If god perhaps will grant him repentance so that they may know the truth. So that they may come to see it, and we pray for that, but you've got to correct them in humility, and in kindness, in gentleness, in patience, those that are in opposition. And now verse 26, it says, that they may come to their senses and escape the sneer of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. And so that these people may restore the soberness, come to their senses, escape the devil. In other words, James 4 verse 7 says, humble yourselves and resist the devil, and the devil then flee from you. Satan is trying to destroy you, and Satan is trying to destroy the church. So people don't think Satan is using them, but if we're not careful, people can be affected. Their attitudes can be affected by Satan without them realizing, and then they influence others. So help people not to be taken captive by Satan to do Satan's will, but to come to their senses to, by correcting them in humility, so that they will perhaps be granted repentance.