II Timothy 2:16 “But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”
These “vain babblings” are things proclaimed that, may sound intriguing on the surface, but will not hold up when carefully compared to Scripture. People make great names for themselves and draw great crowds after them by exciting people’s emotions with their “vain babblings”. A charismatic person repeatedly declares something with an air of authority, soon others jump on his bandwagon and begin to declare the same falsehood, and before long a whole host of people are emotionally persuaded to believe their “vain babblings”. Then when some humble “workman” of the Lord begins “rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15), the “vain” babblers call him ignorant, old fashioned, unsophisticated, and he gets ignored by the masses. But, the Word of God is always true, such “vain babblings” “will increase unto more ungodliness”. This “ungodliness” is raging in our day, religious lethargy is like a devouring cancer, and the Commandment to “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2) is almost entirely ignored. Paul explains the destructive progression of the evil this way: “And their word will eat as doth a canker” (II Timothy 2:17). I understand that “a canker” is something like gangrene or some form of cancer that left untreated will soon kill the whole body. But, no matter what the “vain” babblers say, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” (II Timothy 2:19)! And, we hear our beloved Lord and Savior declare, “all which he” [the Father] “hath given me I” [Jesus Christ] “should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (John 6:39). Let us be as the wise and faithful Bereans who, “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). It may be that the Lord will mercifully stop the progression of these “vain babblings” and heal us of our “canker”!