Greetings, radio friends, in the ever-precious name of the Lord Jesus. We give you another hearty welcome to hear the Word of God and the exposition of Second Timothy as we continue in the second chapter of this epistle, Second Timothy chapter two, and we would like to read from verse sixteen down through verse eighteen. Here are the words and the counsel of the Spirit of God. saying to us, but shun, profane, and vain babbling. For they will increase unto more ungodliness, and their word will eat, as does a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Siletus, who concerning the truth have erred or strayed from it, saying that the resurrection is passed already and overthrow the faith of some. May God bless the reading of this short portion from his precious word, but may the Holy Spirit be our teacher and the revealer of the needed truth for our hearts and for our consciences while in this present scene of life. Again we continue the exhortations relating to the last days of Christianity. Without apology for the restating of that fact, may I again remind you, we are living in the end days of the Christian age. The coming of the Lord Jesus is very near. The pilgrimage of the Church upon the earth is soon to be consummated. And Christ will come, gathering his saints out of the graves, and changing the living saints, and transport them into the heavens above, and meet them in the air, and to take them to the Father's house. My beloved friend, I would declare faithfully the end of the Christian age is near. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. The true saints of God, the true believing church, will soon be taken out of this earth. But I wonder, are you ready to go? Do you belong to the number that have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ and ready for glory? But we are seeing the most important things relating to these end days of the Christian testimony. And we have the Apostle giving his spiritual advice in the energy and the power of the Holy Spirit to enable the believers to know their responsibility and do it. We have been told in chapter one that we should hold the truth of God right to the end. We have been encouraged in chapter two. to teach and propagate that truth and to be according to the Word of God in character and in conduct maintaining the truth till our Lord Jesus comes. Now we are told, and this is one feature about the Word of God, we are told with a negative approach what we should do. Now when God tells us there are things not to be done, he means them. God teaches us in two ways. Sometimes his word will have a positive approach, a positive appeal, a positive demand. Then sometimes his word will have a negative approach, a negative demand. Now whether God tells you to do something or if he tells you not to do anything, you hear what he says and obey it. Now here is a word opening the sixteenth verse that says, But shun, profane and vain babblings. Now I would like to point out that this negative, together with others, a similar character, is repeated in the word of God in the second epistle of Timothy. In our sixteenth verse, God says shun. If you go down to the nineteenth verse, We shall see later that he says, depart from certain things and even certain people. When we go down to verse twenty-one, he says, purge yourselves. When we go to verse twenty-two, God says, flee. When we go to verse twenty-three, God counsels to avoid. When you come into chapter three, and especially verse five, God says, turn away. Now when God commands, shun, depart, purge, flee, avoid, turn away, he means exactly what he says. Now my fellow believer, I want to emphasize the importance of these words. They denote that there are conditions prevailing in the last days of the Christian testimony that God counsels the believer to definitely avoid. Now note these words of the sixteenth verse. Shun, profane and vain babbling. Now what the Lord means, and may I point out, vain babbling means empty, useless, worthless, talk. And God says, shun it. Now please do not think the word profane, as it is in the New Testament Greek. is one that has the present day meaning. It does not necessarily imply vulgar things or wicked things and talk. But it certainly implies that there are things of conversation that as we have already seen in the preceding verse, we have already noticed that we can speak of things that are of no profit. and the Spirit of God is counseling to shun profane, vain babblings, the constant chatter about things of unimportance. God help us to realize it. May I put it this way, my fellow believer, and I would not be restricting my fellowship and my interest from God's beloved people or any people wherever I may meet them on any ground. But may I remind you, it's to sometimes and frequently today, far better, to turn away and get away from the conversations of many people. With vain empty talk, God says, shun. Now he tells why. For they will increase unto more ungodliness. Oh, my beloved. These conversations perhaps of impurity, perhaps not of impurity. But such conversations as are nothing but a lot of empty talk, purposeless, leading to no edification, leading to no blessing. God says avoid because they will not help you and promote in you more godliness, but rather ungodliness. My beloved believer, And may I repeat it from the word of God. Peter writes of it in second Peter chapter one, that one of the virtues of the last days that God would develop in his people is the virtue of godlikeness, godliness. And so may God by his Holy Spirit remind us of this characteristic that we may be godly and pious in the testimony of our lives. For such vain talk will increase to more than gone godliness. Then note how insidious such conversation is. For he goes on to say their word will eat as doth a canker or a cancer. You are very familiar, as we all are. would be insidious, deceitful growth and development of a cancer in a human body. Oh, it's one of the most dreaded diseases of the day. And we perish to think that such a disease would ever grip the body and go to realize the enormity of such a thing. Mind how it strikes terror, brings fear to the mind and the heart of any person. When they realize and learn they possess a cancer. And they wonder how far is it developed. How much longer will it grow? How much longer shall I live? Now God says there are words so spoken they can be like a cancer. And you know as well as I do. There's no exposing of a cancer until it is already developed. To some degree whether small or great. And mercifully it is when we are able to stop its growth as well as eliminate it if possible. Now God says, the word that is not to the degree of blessing and edification can be like a cancer to ruin the testimony. And then he mentions two men who came under this evil, of whom is Hymenaeus and Siletus. Now may I say very faithfully that these two men were Christians? I believe these two men were possibly very well teachers of the Word of God. In fact, we find that they had their place amongst the people of God. That they listened and they followed conversations and empty talk and speculation concerning things that were not in line with the Word of God, that they strayed away from the truth. Who concerning the truth has strayed? My beloved, I would not be faithful to God, nor to his word, nor to my fellow believers, where I not to warn you that it is possible for all of us and any of us to stray away from the truth of God. Now these men didn't plunge away from the truth of God. They strayed away from the truth. they began a path of disobedience that at the commencement they little realized was leading them away from the truth of God. And gradually they got far away, and began to teach what was error, saying that the resurrection was passed already and overthrew the faith of some. And in relation to the great doctrine of the resurrection, these two teachers of the Word of God strayed from the Scriptures, and by their false teaching, they overthrew the faith of some of the believers. How tragic. Beloved, does it not warn us? Does it not warn us of the danger of straying from the truth of God? No wonder Paul said in the fifteenth verse, Study to show thyself a workman that needeth approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. My beloved, I cannot persuade you too strongly. Hew to the word of God. May God keep us by his spirit and grace from straying from his precious truth. And if any have wondered, God glance, you will return back and embrace the truth of God as he teaches it. Shall we pray for our time is done? Father, once again, we commend and we commit entirely to thee, and thy blessing and thy power, the spoken word as thou hast given it, to thy glory and the blessing of thy people in Jesus' name. Amen.