2nd. Timothy 3:1-5
The beginning of verse 2 says it all:
“People will be lovers of themselves”…This is the typical pattern of sin - it
was Lucifer’s downfall (Isaiah 14:13-14) and it is mans as well (Genesis 3).
How that sin of “self” manifests itself is found in the rest of the paragraph…This
is also what happens when a nation turns its back on God. People are unholy,
ungrateful, lovers of themselves, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…
which leads to a total moral collapse. People become lovers of money,
conceited, without love toward others, boastful, proud, unforgiving, “not lovers of what is good.” This leads to a
total breakdown of society. People will be treacherous, rash, slanderous,
brutal, disobedient to parents, abusive and without self-control…
That last phrase means that in the end,
anything goes! No rules, no moral absolutes, no restraints of any kind. Every
man does that which is right in his own eyes, and woe to the person who dares
to question his “lifestyle choices.” Just as a side note: It’s interesting that
Paul includes “disobedient to parents.” It may seem too trivial to be in such a
radical list, but for Paul, disobedience is the spark that ignites the flame
that leaves the home in ashes. In the light of Bible prophecy, we should expect that as we approach the end times, all these things will increase in intensity and frequency, until we have the situation portrayed in the Book of Revelation.
There are two things that also stand out to me; These whom he is talking about also lack two important character ingredients: two things that Paul says they are “without” or lacking…“without love” and “without self control”. Love is putting the needs of others before your needs. Self control is putting God’s character or “godly character” before self.
Ephesians 4:17-19 – “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.” In other words, rather than love God and live godly lives, they love and do what-ever pleases “self”.
I have said before that when a lack of self-control gets out of control, we have prisons where we put the worst so we can control them. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
As bad as all that sounds, we may think to ourselves, “so, what else is new? The world has always been this way.” That may be true. I think the “last days “ that Paul speaks of here carries two meanings; One means the period of time between the first and second coming of Christ; sometimes referred to as the “church age.” But, I also think that there is a reference to a time when all these things seem to increase in intensity to the point where the “last days” mean the short period of time just before, Christ appears and the rapture of the church takes place!
But, to me, worse than all these things that Paul talks about here, is verse 5 – “having a form of godliness but denying its power."… Does that sound like an oxymoron to you? How can people like those Paul just described have a “form of godliness”? ( Paul is not necessarily just writing about the world! )
I heard a preacher describe it this way; - as it concerns hypocrisy and the way the world views the church; Quote: “They’ve seen enough weak-kneed, empty-headed, two-faced, finger-pointin’, big talkin’, no walkin’, wimpy actin, church-playin’, Godless-livin’, non-givin, doubt’n, pout’n, gossip-spoutin’, 3 strikes and you’re out’n, “I got problems big as a mountain”, cussin’ on Friday but Sunday morning shoutin’ Christians!”
Selfish people aren’t walking around wearing signs that say "I love myself more than you" – or “more than God” in fact, they wrap a robe of religion or respectability around them, but in reality, there is no truth to their religion and their lives deny the power of God. This means that they could be church goers, who know the lingo and the songs and how to appear godly - but in reality they deny the power of the gospel and leave the power of God totally out of their lives! As Paul says in verse 7 – “always learning, but never able to acknowledge the truth.” In other words, never acting on or allowing what they have learned and know to be true, to change or influence their attitudes and lives. They live a false and insincere faith.
What does it mean to us? You can’t just put on a Christian costume and be saved. Christianity isn’t a club you join or a part you play in the game of life. Church is not a place you go or something you do…it is who you are! I’m afraid that sometimes we get too comfortable confessing that we are sinners (but we don’t think we can be victorious over sin). What I mean is this: When God saved us through the grace of Christ, he put power in us by His Holy Spirit to live godly lives. Is that true or false? We do not have a salvation that leaves us powerless over sin!
If my life is defined by anything on the list in these verses, I need to ask an important question: Where is the power of God in my life? What I am suggesting here is that we begin to live victorious lives. The question to us is not “Do we have the power?” … It is “Are we using the power?” Next time we will talk about verses 10-17… “You, however”…
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