THEY WHICH CREEP INTO HOUSES

2 Tim 3:6-7 For of this sort are they, which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The world has continually been filled with hypocritical teachers of human doctrines that are contrary to that which God requires mankind to hear and obey. Peter fully identifies them (See 2 Pet. 2:1-19) in vivid, understandable terms, as false prophets and false teachers that bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord, telling us that many shall follow their pernicious ways. These false preachers and teachers will make merchandise of you, that is, they will purchase you from God with vain, worldly-satisfying promises, and sell you a false and evil doctrine, in order to receive personal fortune and fame. They are presumptuous, ...self-willed, and ...speak evil of dignities. They are brute beasts, which speak evil of the things that they understand not. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls. They have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray. They are as spiritually empty as wells without water, (and) clouds that are carried with a tempest; ...they speak great swelling words of vanity; they allure, that is, they draw men and women away from the truths, found in the word of God,through the lusts of the flesh, (and) ...much wantonness - unchaste, lewd, and immoral behavior. They promise their hearers and followers liberty, but lead them into the bondage of sin, separating them from God, and from the hope of eternal life in heaven.

Rhetorically, can there be a clearer description; can there be a more damnable condemnation; can there be a more fearful word-picture painted of the horrible, sinful state of degregation that mankind can be drawn into, than that which was described by the apostle Peter, in this Holy Spirit-inspired warning to mankind?

In this and his previous letter to Timothy, Paul said this about false teachers: they lack understanding about what they teach (1 Tim. 1-5-7). Without a convicting conscience, they teach doctrines of devils, and speak lies in hypocrisy (1 Tim. 4:1-2). With their teachings they create envy and strife, cause corrupt minds, and are totally destitute of the truth (1 Tim. 6:4-5). They caused then, and continue even now to cause, weak and unstable members of the church of Christ to refuse sound doctrine,and ...shall (cause them to) turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2 Tim. 4:3-4). In the lesson text, Paul says, that false preachers and teachers are of this sort.

These ungodly men, described above, creep into houses, not openly and ostensibly, but cunningly and without notice, or show. They invade the sanctity of every family they can find that has a crack in their armor of God (See Eph. 6:10-17). Here, Paul says, they find some that are especially susceptible to the beguiling manner of false teachers, and refers to them assilly women. The word translated "silly" simply means "little," "young," or "weak" women. From the beginning of time, women have looked to religious leaders, and ministers of the gospel of Christ, for spiritual guidance. And certainly, the young, weak, and silly women,are more susceptible to the devious and deceitful skills of false teachers. They are more susceptible and more easily led away with divers lusts, when they are already laden with sins. It is easy to understand that when one is already mired in sins, that they can be more readily influenced by other sins of the world, and led away with divers (different and varied) lusts. The propensity to sin is multiplied when one is already given to the ways of the world. Such is the case with young, weak, and silly women.

It appears that the unusual novelty that false teachers include in their deceitful, beguiling messages is appealing to all that are weak in knowledge and understanding of God's word. It is the babes in Christ that are easily tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive (Eph. 4:14). Here, in the lesson text, these unlearned, and easily swayed,silly women appear to be ever learning. That is, they seem to be trying to learn the full knowledge of God's word, but are never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

This lesson tells us that these silly womencould not come to a true knowledge of God's will, for two reasons. First, because they were already laden with sins, their hearts, no doubt, had become hardened, and they were insensitive to the sins of the world around them. Secondly, they were seeking spiritual guidance from "religious" teachers that would tell them what they wanted to hear - that they could participate in worldliness and still be right in the sight of God.

Indeed, the world is filled with hypocritical "preachers" that cater to those that are most impressionable - those that are weak babes in Christ. Silly women, and others having the same weaknesses, will be led astray, fail to know God's true word, and will be lost for eternity. They will creep into your house, and lead you into perdition - the complete, and irreparable loss of your soul and the hope of eternal salvation.