Always learning, but...

For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.  – 2 Timothy 3.6-7

The people that Paul talks about in the previous passage are those who put on a show of godliness, but never allow the power of godliness to work in their lives. At the end of the passage he says to stay away from them and today he tells why.

Paul says that they creep into homes and capture gullible women who are laden down with their sins and led astray by their desires. Now I know it says women - but I have seen many men in the same boat and may have been there once or twice myself.

But I want to key on this one phrase - ever learning and never able to come the the knowledge of the truth.'

I will be honest here. I don't know why Paul specifically addresses 'silly women' here. Maybe it was a local problem that Timothy had to to deal with. Maybe women tend to be just inclined that way. Maybe 'silly women' is an illustration of all who are easily turned aside. Either way there is a warning here for us.

All of us, 'silly women' or not, need to be careful of those whose godliness is only a show. Satan can use them to cause great harm to the church. It is these folks who are happy enough to ‘learn’ but never do anything with the ‘learning.’

And all of us need to be aware of this whole idea of learning and learning and learning and never doing anything with the learning. It is far too easy to sit in church or Bible study and get full of learning, but never use knowledge to change our lives.