2 Timothy 3:10-13

V10-13 – ¹⁰You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹persecutions, sufferings – what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹²In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Paul contrasts the false teachers as he appeals to his own “teaching, …way of life, …purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, [and] sufferings” to remind Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (v12). Thus all true Christians should expect persecution and trials to come their way (Matthew 10:17-18; John 15:20; 1 Peter 4:12; 5:9; Galatians 4:29). When we take v12-13 together, we can infer that all people are bad, but that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus” will be made good (sanctified) through persecution (Romans 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; James 1:12; Revelation 2:10). The rest “go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” One commentator adds, “Those trapped by sin, self, and Satan tend to trap others!” The way to guard against these “evil men and impostors” is to emulate Paul and his nine traits listed in v10-11.