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St. Paul having now finished the exhortatory part of this chapter, and acquainted Timothy what he would have him practise and do, now comes to a dehortation, advising him what he would have him avoid and shun; and here, first, he bids him shun profane and vain babblings; the vain babblings of the Heathen philosopers, and the profane notions of heretical and seducing teachers, particularly the Gnostics, the followers of Simon Magus and Menander, who were guilty of an apostasy from Christianity, by turning the resurrection into an allegory; affirming that the resurrection of the soul to piety and virtue, was the only resurrection to be expected, disowning the resurrection of the body, and asserting, that the flesh was unfit to rise.
Observe, secondly, The nature of erroneous doctrine declared; it is of a devouring, spreading and destroying nature, their words will eat asdoth a gangrene.
Quest. How doth a gangrene eat?
Ans. It eats speedily, it eats incurably, it eats mortally, as it is well known the gangrene doth.
Quest. But what is it that heresies eat?
Ans. Faith, peace and godliness; so here, they overthrow the faith of some, and increase unto more ungodliness.
Quest. How comes it to pass that they so eat?
Ans. The spreading and prevailing of heresies, may be ascribed partly to the subtility and activity of seducers, partly to the curiousity and simplicity of the seduced, and partly to the justice of God, for the manifestation of those that are sincere, and the punishment of those that receive not the truth in the love of it.