2 TIMOTHY 3:8

“Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith.”

Just who are these two guys. They are mentioned nowhere else in the Bible. We are pretty sure these two men were the two lead magicians who opposed Moses in front of Pharaoh. There is a lot of Jewish literature that names them, and it would be normal for their names to have been preserved in ancient texts.

But why mention them here. Paul is saying that just as these two tried to fake the truth of Moses’ miracles to free the slaves, these people Paul is warning Timothy about were faking the truth of the gospel and pretending to have an equal claim to apostleship and power. There are still people around today who will do the same. Beware!

APPLICATION

Now, people won’t normally come up to you or your child and say, “I have the power of God. Listen to me.” That would be too obvious. We teach our children about stranger danger. If someone approaches them and claims mom or dad sent them to pick them up, what should they do? That’s right, run! The same holds true here.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are hearing “another” gospel that doesn’t quite match up to the truth of the gospel, run! Teach your kids that the moment the shift happens from all glory pointing to Jesus towards another person or object (church, event, etc.), run! Fakers fake because we fall for it. Fakers fake because we are not diligent to check them out.

Let me ask you a hard question. Are you a faker? Do you pretend to be walking in the truth but are actually living a lie? Stop right now and make that right. Set your feet on the firm foundation of God’s Word and never turn again. And be mindful of the other fakers around you trying to lure you into chasing things that are false and just don’t matter. Life is way too short to chase rabbits spiritually.

Give me Your eyes, Lord, so I can spot the fakers. You only stand for truth. That is all I desire.